The ability of decline in intrinsic capacity to indicate the risk of mortality in older adults: A meta-analysis

•This review conducts a meta-analysis of studies examining the ability of decline in intrinsic capacity to indicate the risk of mortality in older adults.•Decline in intrinsic capacity can be used to facilitate the early identification of mortality risks in older adults and the avoidance of adverse health outcomes.•The findings from this meta-analysis can be used to improve the quality of life of older adults and to promote healthy aging. To evaluate the ability of decline in intrinsic capacity to indicate the risk of mortality in older adults. Meta-analysis. PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, the Cochrane Library, Wanfang Database, CNKI, VIP, and CBM were searched for relevant studies published from inception to October 31, 2023. Stata17.0 software was used to perform the meta-analysis. A random effects model was used to pool the results of the risk of mortality (as hazard ratios, HRs) in older adults and decline in intrinsic capacity. The Newcastle Ottawa Scale was used to evaluate the quality of studies. The Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) system was used to determine the confidence in the estimated effect of pooled outcomes. Twelve studies, with a total of 38,531 participants, were included in this meta-analysis. The findings show that older adults with intrinsic capacity decline have a higher risk of mortality (HR = 1.11, 95 % CI 1.08–1.14, I2 = 95.9 %, P 0.05). GRADE evaluations of outcome indicators were of moderate confidence. Decline in intrinsic capacity is a significant predictor of mortality. Locomotion, vitality, and cognition dimensions can all predict mortality. Clinical personnel should early assess the intrinsic capacity of older adults, focusing on changes in the dimensions of locomotion and vitality, to identify the risk of mortality, avoid adverse health outcomes, and improve the quality of life of older adults. Review protocol registered in PROSPERO: CRD42023481246