FRéLE: Fragilité, une étude longitudinale de ses expressions [Frailty, a longitudinal study of its expressions]
The first objective of this research project will be to investigate the extent to which psychosocial and biological markers of frailty can be added to the five components of the Fried’s model of the frailty syndrome. The second objective of the project is to identify homogeneous subgroups of elderly persons, or profiles of frailty, that demonstrate a specific pattern of associations among a subset of the components of frailty and/or potential biological and psychosocial markers.
Objective 1a - The starting point for the first objective is a definition of frailty as a clinical syndrome based on the presence of the five Fried’s physiological components: unintentional weight loss, low muscle strength, poor physical performance, low physical activity, and feeling of exhaustion. The extent to which these five measures can be considered as components of a frailty syndrome will be examined.
Objective 1b – Components such as cognition and mood, and candidate psychosocial components will be added to the five Fried’s components and their inclusion in the frailty syndrome examined.
Objective 1c - Relationships between components of frailty can vary at different points in time. Trajectories of frailty will be identified using the biological, functional and psychosocial markers of profiles of frailty selected in the Objective 1a and 1b studies.
Objective 2a - In the study of predictors of frailty, the primary dependent variables are frailty trajectories. The primary predictors of frailty trajectories considered in this study are socio-economic status (SES), structural aspects of social network and positive and negative social support, self-efficacy and gender. Smoking, sleep patterns, lifelong physical exercise, and risk of energy and nutritional deficiencies will also be assessed.
Objective 2b - The consequences of frailty in terms of the Verbrugge & Jette model of disabilities will be examined. As in the Lebel et al. modeling of the frailty process, frailty will be considered as a modifier of pathways from pathology through functional limitations, disabilities and finally to death. These consequences are those usually considered in the examination of the validity of the components of frailty syndrome.
Overview
- Acronym
- FRéLE
- Investigators
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Dr. Nancy PresseResearch Center on Aging / Centre de recherche sur le vieillissement, Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux de l’Estrie – Centre hospitalier universitaire de Sherbrooke (CIUSSS de l’Estrie-CHUS)
- Contacts
-
General Design
- Study design
- Cohort
- Start - End Year
- 2010 - 2013
- General Information on Follow Up (profile, frequency)
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Three year longitudinal study (T0, T1, and T2), with face-to face measurement at a 1-year interval, and six-month phone interview (T0.5, T1.5)
- Recruitment Target
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- Individuals
- Number of Participants
- 1,643
Access
Availability of data and biosamples
| Possible Access to Data | |
| Possible Access to Biosamples | |
| Other |
|
Marker Papers
Galand, C., Béland, F., & Fletcher, J. (2012). FRÉLE: Fragilité, une étude longitudinale de ses expressions. Rapport descriptif sur les données obtenues durant les entrevues face-à-face au temps « TO ». Publications Solidage.
Supplementary Information
Béland F, Michel H, La fragilité des personnes âgées : définitions, controverses et perspectives d’action, Rennes, Presses de l’EHESP, 2013.
Béland F, Michel H, Explorer la fragilité : d’un syndrome gériatrique à une notion polymorphe? Pp 7-30 in Béland F, Michel H, La fragilité des personnes âgées : définitions, controverses et perspectives d’action, Rennes, Presses de l’EHESP, 2013.
Galand C Béland F, Fletcher J, FRéLE : une étude québécois sur la fragilité, pp177-204, in Béland F, Michel H, La fragilité des personnes âgées : définitions, controverses et perspectives d’action, Rennes, Presses de l’EHESP, 2013.
Timeline
Population
Older adults aged 65 years and older
Selection Criteria
- Minimum age
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65
- Countries
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- Canada
- Canadian Provinces
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- Quebec
- Territory
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Montréal, Sherbrooke, Victioriaville
- Other Criteria
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Living at home or apartment
Sources of Recruitment
- General Population
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- Selected sample
- Supplementary Information
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Participants were drawn from the Régie de l’assurance-maladie du Québec (RAMQ)
Sample Size
- Number of Participants
- 1,643
Data Collection Events
| # | Name | Data sources | Data sources - Biosamples | Start | End |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | T0 |
|
2010 (February) | 2010 (August) | |
| 1 | T1 |
|
2011 (February) | 2011 (August) | |
| 2 | T2 |
|
2012 (February) | 2012 (August) |
Participating Studies
| Acronym | Name | Study design | Countries |
|---|
Harmonization Initiatives Included
| Acronym | Name |
|---|
Datasets
| Name | Data Collection Events | Variables |
|---|
Areas of Information Collected
- Socio-demographic and economic characteristics
- Death
- Lifestyle and behaviours
- Physical measures and assessments
- Birth, pregnancy and reproductive health history
- Laboratory measures
- Perception of health, quality of life, development and functional limitations
- Cognition, personality and psychological measures and assessments
- Diseases
- Life events, life plans, beliefs and values
- Symptoms and signs
- Preschool, school and work life
- Medication and supplements
- Social environment and relationships
- Non-pharmacological interventions
- Physical environment
- Health and community care services utilization
- Administrative information
Variables Content Summary
Areas of Information Collected
Areas of Information Collected per per Population and Data Collection Event
Networks
| Acronym | Name | Harmonization Initiatives | Individual Studies |
|---|