title: The Phenotype of Frailty and Health-Related Quality of Life.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Frailty is a multidimensional problem in the elderly, but there is little information about its implications on health-related quality of life (HRQoL).
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine the association between frailty and HRQoL as well as the association between each component of the phenotype of frailty and the physical (PCS) and mental (MCS) components summaries of QoL.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional study of 496 community-dwelling elderly aged 70 and older, participating in the Mexican Study of Nutritional and Psychosocial Markers of Frailty.
  
  
  METHODS
  Frailty was defined by the presence of at least three of the following criteria: weight loss, exhaustion, low physical activity, slowness, and weakness. QoL and both of its components were assessed through the SF-36. The association of each component of frailty with the PCS and the MCS of QoL was determined through the construction of multivariate lineal regression models. Final analyses were adjusted by socio-demographic characteristics and by the remaining four components of frailty as covariates.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mean age of participants was 78.0 (SD ± 6.2), 49.4% were women, and 12.7% were frail. Multivariate lineal regression analysis showed that frail and prefrail participants had lower scores for the PCS (P < .001) and the MCS (P < .001) of QoL in comparison with non-frail subjects. Weight loss (P < .001) and exhaustion (P < .001) had an independent inverse association with the MCS of QoL while gait speed (P < .001) and grip strength (P < .001) were also inversely associated with the PCS score.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Frailty is independently associated with lower scores in the MCS and the PCS of QoL. The finding that different components of frailty were associated with both dimensions of QoL reflects the need for individualized treatment of frail elderly.
authors.affiliation: José Alberto Ávila-Funes. Department of Geriatrics. Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán. Vasco de Quiroga 15. CP 14000; Tlalpan, Distrito Federal, México. Phone: +52 (55) 54 87 09 00, 5703. E-mail: avilafunes@live.com.mx. Alternate Corresponding Author: Mauricio Moreno-Aguilar. E-mail: doctormauriciomoreno@gmail.com.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Moreno-Aguilar
authors.forename: J M A
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: García-Lara
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Aguilar-Navarro
authors.forename: A P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Navarrete-Reyes
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Amieva
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Ávila-Funes