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The BELFRAIL (BFC80+) study: a population-based prospective cohort study of the very elderly in Belgium
Vaes B, Pasquet A, Wallemacq P, Rezzoug N, Mekouar H, Olivier PA, Legrand D, Matheï C et al.. BMC geriatrics, 2010-06-17
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Background In coming decades the proportion of very elderly people living in the Western world will dramatically increase. This forthcoming "grey epidemic" will lead to an explosion of chronic diseases. In order to anticipate booming health care expenditures and to assure that social security is funded in the future, research focusing on the relationship between chronic diseases, frailty and disability is needed. The general aim of the BELFRAIL cohort study (BFC80+) is to study the dynamic interaction between health, frailty and disability in a multi-system approach focusing on cardiac dysfunction and chronic heart failure, lung function, sarcopenia, renal insufficiency and immunosenescence. Methods/design The BFC80+ is a prospective, observational, population-based cohort study of subjects aged 80 years and older in three well-circumscribed areas of Belgium. In total, 29 general practitioner (GP) centres were asked to include patients aged 80 and older. Only three exclusion criteria were used: severe dementia, in palliative care and medical emergency. Two sampling methods for the recruitment of patients were used. Between November 2, 2008 and September 15, 2009, 567 subjects were included in the BFC80+ study. Every study participant was invited to undergo four study visits. The GP recorded background variables and medical history and performed a detailed anamnesis and clinical examination. The clinical research assistant performed an extensive examination including performance testing, questionnaires and technical examinations. Echocardiography was performed at home by a cardiologist. A blood sample was collected in the morning. Follow-up reporting of hard outcome measures including mortality, hospitalization and morbidity was organized. A second data collection is planned after 18 months. Discussion The BFC80+ was designed to acquire a better understanding of the epidemiology and pathophysiology of chronic diseases in the very elderly and to study the dynamic interaction between health, frailty and disability in a multi-system approach. The wide variety of dimensions investigated in the BFC80+ will enable us not only to investigate in depth the relationship between the different physiological systems but also to initiate new research questions based on this unique database of community-dwelling elderly.
Key findings
- A blood sample was collected in the morning.
- Follow-up reporting of hard outcome measures including mortality, hospitalization and morbidity was organized.
- A second data collection is planned after 18 months.
- Discussion The BFC80+ was designed to acquire a better understanding of the epidemiology and pathophysiology of chronic diseases in the very elderly and to study the dynamic interaction between health, frailty and disability in a multi-system approach.
- The wide variety of dimensions investigated in the BFC80+ will enable us not only to investigate in depth the relationship between the different physiological systems but also to initiate new research questions based on this unique database of community-dwelling elderly.
Study details
- Study designcohort study
- Participants567
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 64/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a cohort study following people over time. Scored zero for effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on journal's citation record, times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here, still being cited, senior author's track record and institution's track record, so those were left out: it earned 39 of the 61 points we could judge it on, which is 64 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (BMC geriatrics) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Study design | 7 / 12 | A cohort study following people over time |
| Strength of evidence | 3 / 5 | Rated “moderate” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2010 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 567 participants |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | — / 7 | No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | — / 6 | Not yet checked against this library's citation graph — left out of this score |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | PubMed indexes it as a multicentre study |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 20565795) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Points | 39 / 61 | Scored on 12 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 39 of the 61 points we could judge it on is 64 out of 100. |
| Total | 64 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
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Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Vaes, B., Pasquet, A., Wallemacq, P., Rezzoug, N., Mekouar, H., Olivier, P. A., et al. (2010). The BELFRAIL (BFC80+) study: a population-based prospective cohort study of the very elderly in Belgium. BMC geriatrics. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2318-10-39
Vancouver
Vaes B, Pasquet A, Wallemacq P, Rezzoug N, Mekouar H, Olivier PA, et al. The BELFRAIL (BFC80+) study: a population-based prospective cohort study of the very elderly in Belgium. BMC geriatrics. 2010. doi:10.1186/1471-2318-10-39. PMID: 20565795.
BibTeX
@article{vaes2010-20565795,
author = {Vaes, B. and Pasquet, A. and Wallemacq, P. and Rezzoug, N. and Mekouar, H. and Olivier, P. A. and Legrand, D. and Matheï, C. and others},
title = {{The BELFRAIL (BFC80+) study: a population-based prospective cohort study of the very elderly in Belgium}},
journal = {BMC geriatrics},
year = {2010},
doi = {10.1186/1471-2318-10-39},
pmid = {20565795},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2318-10-39}
}
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