The utilization of primary healthcare services among frail older adults : findings from the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study
Ikonen, J. N., Eriksson, J. G., von Bonsdorff, M. B., Kajantie, E., Arponen, O., & Haapanen, M. J. (2022). The utilization of primary healthcare services among frail older adults : findings from the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study. BMC Geriatrics, 22, Article 79. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-022-02767-4
Published in
BMC GeriatricsAuthors
Date
2022Discipline
Gerontologia ja kansanterveysGerontologian tutkimuskeskusHyvinvoinnin tutkimuksen yhteisöGerontology and Public HealthGerontology Research CenterSchool of WellbeingCopyright
© The Author(s) 2022
Background
The impact of frailty on primary healthcare service use, especially general practice office visits and remote contacts, is currently unknown. Further, little is known about the association of frailty with physiotherapy contacts.
Methods
We examined the utilization of primary healthcare services among 1064 participants from the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study between the years 2013 and 2017. Frailty was assessed based on Fried’s frailty criteria at mean age of 71.0 (2.7 SD) years in clinical examinations between the years 2011 and 2013. General practice office visits and remote contacts, the total number of general practice contacts, physiotherapy contacts, and the total number of primary healthcare contacts were extracted from a national Finnish register. We analyzed the data with negative binomial regression models.
Results
Of the 1064 participants, 37 were frail (3.5%) and 427 pre-frail (40.1%); 600 non-frail (56.4%) served as a reference group. Frailty was associated with general practice office visits (IRR 1.31, 95% CI=1.01-1.69), physiotherapy contacts (IRR 2.97, 95% CI=1.49-5.91) and the total number of primary healthcare contacts (IRR 1.41, 95% CI=1.07-1.85). Pre-frailty predicted the use of general practice remote contacts (IRR 1.39, 95% CI=1.22-1.57) and the total number of general practice contacts (IRR 1.25, 95% CI=1.12-1.40).
Conclusions
Frailty increases the overall primary healthcare service use whereas pre-frailty is associated with the use of general practice services, especially remote contacts. Primary healthcare needs measures to adapt healthcare services based on the needs of rapidly increasing number of pre-frail and frail older adults and should consider preventative interventions against frailty.
...
Publisher
Biomed CentralISSN Search the Publication Forum
1471-2318Keywords
Publication in research information system
https://converis.jyu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/104303425
Metadata
Show full item recordCollections
- Liikuntatieteiden tiedekunta [3076]
Additional information about funding
This study was supported by Avohoidon Tutkimussäätiö.License
Related items
Showing items with similar title or keywords.
-
Infant and childhood growth and frailty in old age : the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study
Haapanen, M. J.; Perälä, M. M.; Osmond, C.; Salonen, M. K.; Kajantie, E.; Rantanen, Taina; Simonen, M.; Pohjolainen, P.; Eriksson, J. G.; von Bonsdorff, Mikaela (Springer, 2019)Background Evidence from life course studies highlights the importance of infant and childhood growth as risk factors for adulthood chronic diseases. Methods In this sub-study of the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study, we ... -
Early life determinants of frailty in old age : the Helsinki Birth Cohort Stud
Haapanen, M. J.; Perälä, M. M.; Salonen, M. K.; Kajantie, E.; Simonen, M.; Pohjolainen, P.; Eriksson, J. G.; von Bonsdorff, Mikaela (Oxford University Press, 2018)Background there is evidence suggesting that several chronic diseases have their origins in utero and that development taking place during sensitive periods may affect the aging process. We investigated whether early life ... -
Telomere Length and Frailty : The Helsinki Birth Cohort Study
Haapanen, Markus J.; Perälä, Mia-Maria; Salonen, Minna K.; Guzzardi, Maria A.; Iozzo, Patricia; Kajantie, Eero; Rantanen, Taina; Simonen, Mika; Pohjolainen, Pertti; Eriksson, Johan G.; von Bonsdorff, Mikaela (Elsevier Inc., 2018)Objectives: Telomere length is associated with aging-related pathologies. Although the association between telomere length and frailty has been studied previously, only a few studies assessing longitudinal changes in ... -
Patients’ conceptions of undergoing physiotherapy for persistent low back pain delivered in Finnish primary healthcare by physiotherapists who had participated in brief training in cognitive functional therapy
Holopainen, Riikka; Vuoskoski, Pirjo; Piirainen, Arja; Karppinen, Jaro; O’Sullivan, Peter (Taylor & Francis, 2022)Purpose: To explore the conceptions of patients with persistent low back pain (LBP) of undergoing physiotherapy delivered in Finnish primary healthcare by physiotherapists who had participated in brief training in Cognitive ... -
Retirement age and type as predictors of frailty : a retrospective cohort study of older businessmen
Haapanen, Markus J.; von Bonsdorff, Mikaela B.; Perttilä, Niko M.; Törmäkangas, Timo; von Bonsdorff, Monika E.; Strandberg, Arto Y.; Strandberg, Timo E. (BMJ Publishing Group Ltd, 2020)Objectives: To study the association between retirement characteristics and frailty in a homogenous population of former business executives. Design: Cross-sectional cohort study using data from the Helsinki Businessmen ...