TABLE 2. Components of frailty and a selection of frequently used diagnostic criteria.

Components of Frailty	Cardiovascular Health Study (2001) [18] n=1741		InChianti study (2006) [34] n=827		Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement (SHARE, 2010) [35] n=18 227			Women’s Health and Aging Studies (2010) [36] n=786		TROPOS and SOTI (2011) [37] n=5082
Unintentional weight loss	≥5% loss of body weight in prior year		> 4.5kg self-reported unintentional weight loss in previous year		A negative response to the question “what has your appetite been like?”			≥10% weight loss since age 60 until exam		≥5% loss of body weight in prior year
Self-reported exhaustion	A positive response to either (CES-D) statement: i) I felt that everything I did was an effort ii) I could not get going		A positive response to either (CES-D) statement: i) I felt that everything I did was an effort ii) I could not get going		A positive response to the statement: i) In the last month, I have too little energy to do things I want to do			A report of any of: i) low usual energy level (≤3, range 0-10), ii) felt unusually tired in last month, or iii) felt unusually weak in the past month		A response of “most or all the time” to either (SF-36 – vitality) question: i) Did you feel worn out? ii) Did you feel tired ?
Low physical activity	270 on activity scale (18 items)		Self-reported physical activity during the home interview.		A response of “one or three times a month ” to the question: i) how often do you engage in activities that require a low or moderate level of energy?			90 on activity scale (6 items)		A positive response to either of the statements: i) I do no physical activity ii) I do no more than 1 or 2 walks per week
Slow walking speed	Walking 4.57 m: (corrected for height)		Walking 4 m: (lowest sex-specific and height-specific quintile)		A positive response to the question: i) because of your health problem do you have difficulty walking ?			Walking 4 m: (corrected for height)		A response of “;Yes, limited a lot ” to (SF-36 – physical functioning) question: - Are you limited in walking one block ?
Muscle weakness	Grip strength (corrected for BMI range)		Grip strength (lowest sex-specific quintile)		Grip strength (corrected for BMI range)			Grip strength (corrected for BMI range)		A response of “Yes, limited a lot ” to (SF-36 – physical functioning) question: - Are you limited in climbing one flight of stairs?
						50-64yr	+65yr
Result	Robust	33%	Robust	56%	Robust	59%	41%	Robust	45%	Robust	46%
	Pre-frail	55%	Pre-frail	38%	Pre-frail	37%	42%	Pre-frail	44%	Pre-frail	49%
	Frail	12%	Frail	7%	Frail	4%	17%	Frail	11%	Frail	5%

Note: the criteria in the first column, the Cardiovascular Health Study (2001,) are those proposed by Fried and colleagues