Abstract
Objective To investigate the occurrence of frailty and analyze the functional capacity and quality of life in the elderly in a department of geriatrics and gerontology in Belém-PA. Method Cross-sectional, descriptive and analytical study.103 elderly people were assessed as the socio-demographic and clinical aspects, frailty, according to the phenotype of Fried, history of falls, self-perceived health, functional capacity (FC) and quality of life (QOL). The elderly were classified as frail (FR), pre-frail (PF) and non-frail (NF). The groups were compared using the binomial test, Kruskal-Wallis test and ANOVA test, and the relationship between FC and QOL through Pearson correlation. Results The mean age was 73.39(±6.42) years; 23.0% of the elderly were FR, 57.0%were PF and 20.0% were NF. The highest criteria of phenotype were muscle weakness and physical inactivity. Was no difference in FC between FR and PF (p<0.01) and FR and NF (p<0.01). The FR elderly had lower QOL and the highest scores were intimacy (15.33±2.26) and death and dying (14.88±3.26). There were correlation between FC and QOL in groups PF (p=0.0273) and NF (p=0.0017). 62.1% of seniors pointed to health as regular and 34.0% had a history of falling. Conclusion Muscle weakness and physical inactivity were most striking in the development of frailty, which was associated with worse QOL and FC, despite most seniors be independent. These data are important for early detection of determinants of frailty, since the criteria discussed here are reversible.
Highlights
Population aging, which is a major phenomenon in Brazil, is related to an increase in chronic diseases and geriatric syndromes, such as the syndrome of frailty.[1,2]. The study of this condition is of major importance, as it can lead to a reduction in the expectancy for a healthy life and the impairment of the autonomy and independence of the elderly, and a deterioration in quality of life (QOL)[3]
Functional independence is understood as the capacity to perform essential living activities, including caring for oneself, living independently in a house, and carrying out activities that are important for one's QOL4 while QOL in old age means a perception of well-being through an evaluation of to what extent an individual has realized that which is seen as important for a good life and the degree of satisfaction with what has been achieved until that moment.[5]
Identification of the predictive characteristics that define the syndrome allows the creation of measures that improve the QOL of the elderly person and avoid adverse events, thereby preventing, slowing or stopping the progression of frailty, by improving the care of the elderly.[9]. Considering this information, the present study aimed to investigate the occurrence of frailty among elderly persons treated at a geriatric and gerontology department in Belém, in the state of Pará, as well as analyzing the functional capacity and quality of life of this population
Summary
The frailty syndrome has the potential to affect all aspects of life of the elderly. It is an event whose effects extend beyond the elderly themselves, placing a burden on relatives and caregivers, and resulting in high health service costs.[3,6]. There is some heterogeneity, currently the most commonly used definition of the frailty syndrome among the scientific community is that proposed by Fried et al.[4] which considers it to be "a clinical and multifactorial syndrome characterized by a reduction in energy reserves and reduced resistance to stressors, resulting from the cumulative decline of physiological systems”
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