Comparison of the Clinical-Functional Vulnerability Index and the frailty phenotype for the identification of falls in older individuals: A cross-sectional study

•The number of phenotypes identified fallers more accurately than the categorical approach.•The odds ratio for falling was 29.4 greater when 4 frailty phenotypes were present.•The CFVI-20 more accurately identified fallers than the frailty phenotype.•The odds ratio for falling increased by 11% per CFVI-20-unit change. Frailty increases the risk of falls, disability and death in older adults. The Cardiovascular Health Study identified a frailty phenotype (the Fried Phenotype) that was primarily based on physical domains. Instruments that incorporate additional domains (e.g., cognitive, disability or mood) may more accurately identify falls. The study aimed i) to evaluate the association between falls and the number of phenotypes identified by the Fried Phenotype and CFVI-20 scores and ii) to compare the strength of the association between falls and each frailty instrument. This study used the CFVI-20 and the Fried Phenotype and reported falls during the last twelve months. Logistic regression models, odds ratios (ORs), and ROC curves were used to identify associations and perform comparisons (p