Presentation (CTI)

OBJECTIVES: As populations age, health and care systems must meet changing needs and growing demand. This is particularly important for older people living with frailty, a condition characterised by reduced physiological reserve and vulnerability to stressor events. This vulnerability can be quantified by counting health-related components, including symptoms, clinical signs, chronic conditions, functional impairment, cognitive issues, and laboratory abnormalities. Higher levels of frailty are associated with increased use of health and social care services and reduced quality of life (QoL). We aimed to summarise existing evidence on the impact of frailty on health and care service use and QoL, and to estimate health and social care cost savings and QoL gains for every 1% reduction in the number of older people developing frailty over 1 year.
METHODS: Evidence from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) suggests that 171,395 older people aged ≥ 75 will become frail. This estimate was used to assess the impact of a hypothetical intervention which prevents 1% of non-frail people from transitioning to frailty. Data on health and care resource use, and QoL among non-frail and frail older people was collected through a targeted literature review.
RESULTS: For every 1% of non-frail people not transitioning to frailty, a successful intervention is predicted to save approximately £10.1 million in annual health care costs, £4.8 million in annual social care costs, while generating an additional 325.7 quality-adjusted life years. These findings highlight the value of interventions targeting modifiable components of frailty, including chronic conditions, early cognitive decline, and mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety.
CONCLUSIONS: Better chronic disease management and better pharmacological treatments will improve the healthy years of older people and reduce the burden on the health and care system.