Table 3 Comparison of health-deficits across age categories among frail only participants defined using the frailty index

Age

37.90 (1.04)

57.90 (0.42)

72.07 (0.26)

<0.001

Sex (% male)

327 (57.0%)

135 (53.2%)

60 (47.7%)

0.399

Diabetes

101 (17.5%)

104 (41.1%)

56 (44.5%)

<0.001

Thyroid problem

119 (20.7%)

53 (20.7%)

29 (23.5%)

0.841

Cancer

41 (7.2%)

61 (24.00%)

27 (21.3%)

<0.001

Stroke^a

-

-

-

-

Heart disease^a

-

-

-

-

Arthritis

136 (23.8%)

150 (59.0%)

87 (69.4%)

<0.001

Persistent cough

281 (48.9%)

85 (33.4%)

42 (33.3%)

0.010

Known kidney dysfunction

44 (7.7%)

23 (9.1%)

15 (12.3%)

0.442

Poor health

333 (58.00%)

143 (56.3%)

63 (50.1%)

0.581

Poor health compared to 1 year ago

320 (55.7%)

114 (44.8%)

46 (36.9%)

0.033

COPD^a

-

-

-

-

Asthma

244 (42.6%)

62 (24.4%)

19 (15.4%)

<0.001

Liver disease

51 (8.9%)

29 (11.0%)

10 (7.9%)

0.549

Trouble sleeping

459 (79.9%)

194 (76.3%)

85 (67.9%)

0.213

Resting HR (beats/min)

70.35 (1.17)

71.08 (1.25)

65.55 (0.66)

<0.001

Systolic BP (mmHg)

114.53 (2.76)

120.11 (1.90)

125.97 (1.27)

<0.001

Diastolic BP (mmHg)

74.52 (1.87)

73.42 (1.04)

68.48 (0.60)

<0.001

eGFR (ml/min)

108.62 (2.31)

94.16 (1.30)

76.13 (2.15)

<0.001

Albumin (g/L)

45.26 (0.83)

44.20 (0.35)

43.33 (0.29)

<0.001

Haemoglobin (g/L)

142.82 (2.44)

142.02 (0.95)

135.73 (1.70)

<0.001

Calcium (mmol/L)

2.44 (0.02)

2.43 (0.01)

2.42 (0.01)

0.023

Phosphate (mmol/L)

1.31 (0.03)

1.30 (0.02)

1.24 (0.01)

<0.001

RBC count (10–12/L)

4.71 (0.13)

4.69 (0.08)

4.43 (0.05)

<0.001

RBC distribution width (%)

13.33 (0.19)

13.27 (0.18)

13.54 (0.09)

0.043

Aspartate Aminotransferase (U/L)

37.09 (2.52)

34.68 (1.67)

30.47 (0.87)

<0.001

HbA1_C (%)

6.12% (0.15%)

6.6% (0.15%)

6.5% (0.08%)

<0.001

Plasma glucose (mmol/L)

5.97 (0.32)

6.52 (0.25)

6.50 (0.19)

0.037