FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF OLDER-PEOPLE IN CANADA - TESTING A MULTIFACTORIAL DEFINITION OF FRAILTY

OBJECTIVES: To test a model of frailty by examining factors associated with institutionalization of older people in Canada; to assess whethe r diagnostic data provided information about risk beyond that provided by data on functional capacity and demographic variables. METHODS: Cr oss-sectional study of 1258 institutional subjects and 9113 community- dwelling older adults from the Canadian Study of Health and Aging. RES ULTS: Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that female gender, being unmarried, absence of a caregiver, presence of cognitive impair ment (including all types of dementia), functional impairment, diabete s mellitus, stroke, and Parkinson's disease were independently associa ted with being in a long-term care facility. CONCLUSION: Frailty appea rs to be a multidimensional construct, and not simply a synonym for de pendence in Activities of Daily Living. Studies of health outcomes in older people should include diagnostic data as well as demographic inf ormation and data on functional capacity.