Table 1 Demographic characteristics, perceived health and healthcare use according to the three frailty stages

Age (yrs.) (mean ± SD)

74.2 (±6.4)

72.9 (±5.9)

75.9 (±6.5)

78.2 (±6.8)

<0.001

Age groups

65-74

4510 (51.9 %)

3314 (60.4 %)

985 (40.4 %)

211 (27.9 %)

<0.001

75-84

3597 (41.4 %)

1979 (36.1 %)

1215 (49.8 %)

403 (53.4 %)

85+

577 (6.6 %)

195 (3.6 %)

241 (9.9 %)

141 (18.7 %)

Gender (male)

4619 (53.2 %)

3366 (61.3 %)

999 (40.9 %)

254 (33.6 %)

<0.001

Marital status

married/living together

5837 (68.8 %)

4056 (75.2 %)

1422 (60.2 %)

359 (48.9 %)

<0.001

unmarried/divorced

721 (8.5 %)

392 (7.3 %)

231 (9.8 %)

98 (13.4 %)

widowed

1931 (22.7 %)

943 (17.5 %)

711 (30.1 %)

277 (37.7 %)

Level of education

low

4903 (58.6 %)

2796 (52.2 %)

1554 (67.4 %)

553 (78.8 %)

<0.001

medium

1783 (21.3 %)

1254 (23.4 %)

415 (18.0 %)

114 (16.2 %)

high

1681 (20.1 %)

1309 (24.4 %)

337 (14.6 %)

35 (5.0 %)

Perceived health (%)

very good

7.3

10.5

2.2

0.1

<0.001

good

50.9

64.4

33.8

6.1

fair

35.6

24.4

55.5

53.9

poor

5.6

0.7

8.1

34.1

very poor

0.6

0.1

0.4

5.8

Healthcare use (past 12 months) (%)

general practitioner <2 months

50.9

43.3

61.3

74.3

<0.001

medical specialist

64.2

57.3

73.9

83.5

<0.001

dietician

9.6

6.9

13.1

19.3

<0.001

occupational therapist

4.1

1.7

6.2

16.8

<0.001

physiotherapist

35.7

29.2

45.4

53.0

<0.001

homecare (nursing care and household care)

19.1

6.4

31.9

68.1

<0.001

social work

2.4

1.0

3.6

9.4

<0.001