The Study of Osteoporotic Fractures (SOF) Frailty Index

The Study of Osteoporotic Fractures (SOF) frailty index is a simple assessment instrument designed to identify phenotypic frailty in community-dwelling older adults presenting to busy primary care practice settings. This parsimonious index is comprised of three easily assessed components: weight loss, inability to rise from a chair five times without using the arms, and poor energy. Persons having none of these components are considered robust, those having one component are classified as prefrail, and those with two or three components are considered frail. Several studies have reported that the SOF index is an independent predictor of adverse health outcomes in community-dwelling older adults and generally compares favorably in risk prediction to that provided by other frailty indices. Future research is needed to determine if frailty screening with use of the SOF index in primary care improves shared clinical decision making and health outcomes beyond that provided by the traditional medical model.