title: [Frailty in Germany: status and perspectives : Results from a workshop of the German Society for Epidemiology].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  A standardized, valid and comparable operationalization and assessment of frailty in population-based studies is essential in order to describe the prevalence and determinants of frailty in the population.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  After an introduction to the subject the main goal of a workshop at the 9th annual meeting of the German Society for Epidemiology (DGEpi) was to present approaches and results from four different studies in Germany.
  
  
  METHODS
  The following four population-based studies were used to describe frailty in Germany: the German health interview and examination survey for adults (DEGS1), the epidemiological study on the chances of prevention, early recognition and optimized treatment of chronic diseases in the older population (ESTHER), the cooperative health research in the region Augsburg (KORA Age) study and the longitudinal urban cohort ageing study (LUCAS) in Hamburg.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The four studies consistently showed that frailty is widespread in older and oldest-old persons in Germany. It is obvious that frailty represents a relevant concept in Germany even if there is currently no uniform basis for operationalization.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Concepts and instruments for the collation of frailty should be included in future population-based studies in order to make a better assessment of older people's health situation and to describe the unused potential for prevention in an aging society.
authors.affiliation: Abteilung für Epidemiologie und Gesundheitsmonitoring, Robert Koch-Institut, General-Pape-Str. 62-66, 12101, Berlin, Deutschland. fuchsj@rki.de.
authors.forename: Judith
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fuchs
authors.affiliation: Abteilung für Epidemiologie und Gesundheitsmonitoring, Robert Koch-Institut, General-Pape-Str. 62-66, 12101, Berlin, Deutschland.
authors.forename: Christa
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Scheidt-Nave
authors.affiliation: Abteilung für Epidemiologie und Gesundheitsmonitoring, Robert Koch-Institut, General-Pape-Str. 62-66, 12101, Berlin, Deutschland.
authors.forename: Beate
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Gaertner
authors.affiliation: Albertinen-Haus, Zentrum für Geriatrie und Gerontologie, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Deutschland.
authors.forename: Ulrike
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Dapp
authors.affiliation: Albertinen-Haus, Zentrum für Geriatrie und Gerontologie, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Deutschland.
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: von Renteln-Kruse
authors.affiliation: Abteilung für Klinische Epidemiologie und Alternsforschung, Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, Heidelberg, Deutschland.
authors.forename: Kai-Uwe
authors.initials: KU
authors.lastname: Saum
authors.affiliation: Institut für Epidemiologie II, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Deutsches Forschungszentrum für Umwelt und Gesundheit, Neuherberg, Deutschland.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Thorand
authors.affiliation: Institut für medizinische Informationsverarbeitung, Biometrie und Epidemiologie, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, München, Deutschland.|Deutsches Schwindel- und Gleichgewichtszentrum (DSGZ), Klinikum der Universität München, München, Deutschland.
authors.forename: Ralf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Strobl
authors.affiliation: Institut für medizinische Informationsverarbeitung, Biometrie und Epidemiologie, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, München, Deutschland.|Deutsches Schwindel- und Gleichgewichtszentrum (DSGZ), Klinikum der Universität München, München, Deutschland.
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Grill
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002100:Cachexia / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D015897:Comorbidity; D004493:Education; D005260:Female; D016330:Frail Elderly / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015577:Geriatric Assessment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D055948:Sarcopenia / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*
keywords: Activities of daily living; Aging; Disability; Functionality; Geriatric assessment