Psychometric properties of the Tilburg Frailty Indicator in older Spanish people

Abstract Background The Tilburg Frailty Indicator (TFI) is a 15-item scale. It diagnoses frailty in the elderly based on three domains: physical, psychological and social. A Spanish cross-cultural adaptation and its psychometric properties are presented here. Materials and methods Independent, non-institutionalized ≥70 year-olds were recruited. The TFI structure was assessed with Kuder-Richardson (KR-20) and confirmatory factor analyses. Sperman´s correlations (r s ) with Timed Up-and-Go, Self-assessed-health, Fried criteria, Short Physical Performance Battery, Gerontopole Frailty tool, assessed convergent validity. Known groups’ validity and test-retest reliability were tested. Results Based on n = 856 participants, domain and total scale KR-20 were r s were 0.31-0.48. Social domain r s were Discussion TFI applicability at different social contexts and frailty stages are worth of additional study. Certain scale aspects should be reconsidered.