Abstract
OBJECTIVES:To determine the prevalence of frailty and the association of sociodemographic characteristics, clinical aspects, and functional capacity with the frailty status of community-dwelling older adults from Curitiba, Southern Brazil.METHODS:This cross-sectional observational study included 1,716 participants aged ≥60 years. Frailty was assessed using the Fried phenotype indicators of weakness, exhaustion, low activity, slowness, and weight loss. Sociodemographic characteristics, clinical aspects, and functional capacity and functionality were evaluated and compared between the sexes and the different frailty statuses (non-frail, prefrail, and frail). Multinomial logistic regression models were used to identify associations (p<0.05).RESULTS:A high prevalence of frailty (15.8%) and prefrailty (65.3%) were observed, and both were higher in female than in male individuals. The most predominant frailty criterion was weakness, followed by exhaustion. Compared with the non-frail elderly, the prefrail and frail elderly were older in age and presented more health problems, greater dependency for basic and instrumental activities of daily living, and reduced lower extremity strength performance and functional mobility. The highest proportion of illiterate individuals, individuals with 1-4 years of education, widowed individuals, polypharmacy, and possible cognition problems and diseases were seen in the frail elderly group. Moreover, the risk of being prefrail and frail was higher in those who were older and had more health problems, higher body mass index, and reduced lower extremity strength performance. Greater calf circumference and independence in activities of daily living were protective factors for prefrailty and frailty. Furthermore, lower functional mobility increased the chances of being frail.CONCLUSIONS:The prevalence of frailty was more pronounced in female than in male individuals, mainly because of a decline in force. Prefrailty was 4 times more prevalent than frailty, and the presence of health problems and reduced functional capacity increased the chances of being prefrail and frail.
Highlights
Physical frailty is a biologic syndrome characterized by a progressive loss of strength, endurance, and physiological responses, which increases an individual’s vulnerability, dependency, and/or mortality when exposed to a stressor [1]
Population and sample This cross-sectional observational study was conducted in Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil, which is a city with 197,965 inhabitants aged X60 years [12]
All health units (HUs) in the 9 districts of the city were involved, and the number of participants from each HU was determined to obtain a proportional fraction of older adults assisted by the Municipal Health Secretary
Summary
Physical frailty is a biologic syndrome characterized by a progressive loss of strength, endurance, and physiological responses, which increases an individual’s vulnerability, dependency, and/or mortality when exposed to a stressor [1]. Cognition problems and chronic diseases may be present [2]. No potential conflict of interest was reported. Received for publication on December 18, 2019. Accepted for publication on April 7, 2020
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