{
  "abstract": "Objectives Frailty is a clinical syndrome characterised by impaired homeostatic mechanisms and reduced physiological reserve. Hospital admissions for ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSCs) are commonly used as indicators of quality in primary healthcare. We aimed to examine the association between frailty and the use of healthcare resources, including unplanned hospital visits due to ACSCs and non-ACSCs and visits to general practitioners (GPs) and medical specialists (MSs) in primary care. We hypothesised that frail individuals would have similar odds of hospital visits due to ACSCs and non-ACSCs.Design Registry-based epidemiological study.Setting Data from the Danish Lolland-Falster Health Study and national health registers. Data were collected in a rural region of Denmark between February 2016 and February 2020.Participants 10 154 randomly selected individuals aged ≥50 years participating in the Lolland-Falster Health Study with valid frailty measurements.Outcome measures Hospital visits due to any diagnosis, hospital visits due to ACSCs and non-ACSCs, and visits to GPs and MSs in the primary care sector.Results After adjustment for age, sex, comorbidity and socioeconomic factors, frail participants had higher odds of hospital visits due to any diagnosis (OR 1.27, 95% CI 1.02 to 1.57; p=0.03). The odds of hospital visits due to ACSCs (OR 1.42, 95% CI 0.97 to 2.08; p=0.07) and non-ACSCs (OR 1.16, 95% CI 0.91 to 1.47; p=0.22) were not significantly different. Frail individuals had higher odds of visiting their GP (OR 1.21, 95% CI 1.00 to 1.46; p=0.047) but not a medical specialist (OR 0.82, 95% CI 0.62 to 1.07; p=0.15).Conclusions Among frail individuals, the distinction between unplanned hospital visits due to ACSCs and non-ACSCs is not meaningful. This finding is consistent with the understanding of frailty as a state of reduced physiological reserve, in which minor stressors may lead to hospital care regardless of diagnostic category.",
  "authors": [
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department for Clinical and Translational Research, Steno Diabetes Center Copenhagen, Herlev, Capital Region of Denmark, Denmark",
        "Department of Technology, Faculty of Health and Technology, University College Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Capital Region of Denmark, Denmark"
      ],
      "name": "Katja Kemp Jacobsen"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Internal Medicine, Geriatric Section, Zealand University Hospital Koge, Køge, Region Zealand, Denmark"
      ],
      "name": "Mathilde Glud Christensen"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Public Health, Section of Social Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Capital Region of Denmark, Denmark"
      ],
      "name": "Charlotte Nilsson"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Lolland-Falster Health Study, Zealand University Hospital Nykøbing F, Nykøbing Falster, Region Zealand, Denmark"
      ],
      "name": "Randi Jepsen"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "National Institute of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark"
      ],
      "name": "Lau Thygesen"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of clinical medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Capital Region of Denmark, Denmark",
        "Geriatric Research Unit, Department of Geriatric and Palliative Medicine, Bispebjerg Hospital, Copenhagen, Capital Region of Denmark, Denmark"
      ],
      "name": "Charlotte Suetta"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Internal Medicine, Geriatric section, Zealand University Hospital Koge, Køge, Denmark",
        "Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark"
      ],
      "name": "Ellen Astrid Holm"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Healthcare utilisation patterns among frail individuals aged 50+ years: results from the Lolland-Falster Population Study (LOFUS)",
  "uid": "5531c6dd-9ff9-5926-af60-7ba193e4b310"
}