Classification of ≥80-year-old individuals into healthy, moderately healthy, and frail based on different frailty scores affects the interpretation of laboratory results

Authors

  • Maria Edvardsson Philosophy Doctor, Department of Local Health Care in Finspång, Department of Health Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3119-4560
  • Märta Sund Levander Senior Associate Professor, Department of Health, Medicine and Caring Sciences, Division of Prevention, Rehabilitation and Community Medicine, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1281-885X
  • Anna Milberg Senior Associate Professor, Department of Advanced Home Care in Norrköping, and Department of Health, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8828-0702
  • Jan Ernerudh Associate Professor, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences and Division of Inflammation and Infection, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9456-2044
  • Ewa Wressle Assistant Professor, Department of Acute Internal Medicine and Geriatrics in Linköping, and Department of Health, Medicine and Caring Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7669-0939
  • Jan Marcusson Associate Professor, Department of Acute Internal Medicine and Geriatrics in Linköping, and Department of Health, Medicine and Caring Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6452-3930
  • Ewa Grodzinsky Assistant Professor, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3126/ajms.v13i9.45298

Keywords:

Aging; Frail elderly; Analyte; Reference interval; Clinical interpretation

Abstract

Background: Interpretation laboratory analyses are crucial when assessing the patient’s condition. Reference intervals from apparently healthy and disease-free individuals may cause problems when outcomes from elderly patients with chronic diseases and on medications are being interpreted. Elderly individuals are a heterogeneous group ranging from individuals managing their daily life independently to individuals with diseases and impairment, in need of nursing care around the clock, that is, frail; a term widely used although there is no consensus on the definition.

Aims and Objectives: The aim of the study was to study the effect of classification of elderly into healthy, moderately healthy, and frail, based on activities of daily living (ADL) and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) or frailty index (FI), on the interpretation of outcomes regarding: Albumin, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), creatinine, and gamma-glutamyltransferase (γ-GT) levels.

Materials and Methods: Individuals ≥80 years (n=568) were classified either on ADL and MMSE or number of deficits, (FI).

Results: Individuals classified as frail based on FI had lower mean levels for ALT, creatinine and γ-GT than individuals classified based on ADL and MMSE (P<0.05).

Conclusion: The model to define health status to some extent affected laboratory analyte levels in ≥80 years old, classified as healthy, moderately healthy, and frail based on ADL and MMSE versus FI.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.
Abstract
197
PDF
156

Downloads

Published

2022-09-01

How to Cite

Edvardsson, M., Sund Levander, M., Milberg, A. ., Ernerudh, J. ., Wressle, E. ., Marcusson, J., & Grodzinsky, E. . (2022). Classification of ≥80-year-old individuals into healthy, moderately healthy, and frail based on different frailty scores affects the interpretation of laboratory results. Asian Journal of Medical Sciences, 13(9), 63–71. https://doi.org/10.3126/ajms.v13i9.45298

Issue

Vol. 13 No. 9 (2022)

Section

Original Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2022 Asian Journal of Medical Sciences

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  1. The journal holds copyright and publishes the work under a Creative Commons CC-BY-NC license that permits use, distribution and reprduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes. The journal should be recognised as the original publisher of this work.
  2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).