Examining heterogeneity in frailty in the Canadian population

Frailty, especially at its earlier stages, may represent a period of transition from healthy aging to dependency that could be a target for interventions directed at restoring robustness and delaying decline. Although it is more commonly found in the oldest old, evidence suggests that frailty is associated with higher mortality and health service use across all ages. One issue with frailty is that the there is no agreed upon definition, and some researchers have suggested that targeting people for interventions may be better done based on subtypes of frailty (physical, biological, psychological, social, cognitive). This study will allow us to better understand how frailty subtypes vary across Canada and how they are related to health utilization outcomes.