An important problem in an aging country: identifying the frailty via 9 Point Clinical Frailty Scale-

Abstract

Frailty is a geriatric syndrome which develops as a result of cumulative decline in many physiological systems and results in an increased vulnerability and risk of adverse outcomes. The Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) was validated as a predictor of adverse outcomes in community-dwelling older people and evaluates items such as comorbidity, cognitive impairment and disability. We aimed to study the concurrent and construct validity and reliability of the 9 point CFS in Turkish Population.<b>Methods</b>: This study was designed as a cross-sectional study. Participants, who were admitted to a geriatric medicine outpatient clinic, were included. Validity of 9 point CFS was tested by its correlation with the assessment and opinion of an experienced geriatric medicine specialist and Fried frailty phenotype. Test-retest and inter-rater reliability analyses were also performed.<b>Results</b>: Median age of the 118 patients was 74.5 years (min: 65 max: 88) and 64.4 % were female. The concordance of CFS and experienced geriatric medicine specialist's opinion was excellent (Cohen's <i>K</i>: 0.80, <i>p</i> < 0.001).The concordance of CFS and Fried Frailty phenotype was moderate (Cohen's <i>K</i>: 0.514, <i>p</i> < 0.001).CFS inter-rater reliability and test-retest reliability was very strong (Cohen's <i>K</i>: 0.811, <i>p</i> < 0.001 and Cohen's <i>K</i>: 1.0, <i>p</i> < 0.001, respectively).<b>Conclusions</b>: CFS appears to be a quick, reliable and valid frailty screening tool for community-dwelling older adults in the Turkish population.