Predictors of frailty in older people users of Primary Health Care.

Larissa Chaves Pedreira,João Paulo de Almeida Tavares,Pedro Miguel Ferreira de Sá-Couto

doi:10.1590/0034-7167-2020-1292

Larissa Chaves Pedreira, João Paulo de Almeida Tavares + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1590/0034-7167-2020-1292

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Abstract

to identify the prevalence and predictors of frailty in older people in Primary Health Care. this is a descriptive and correlational study, carried out in a convenience sample of 136 older people in the community. Data were collected through a sociodemographic and clinical questionnaire and frailty phenotype. Student's t test or U-Mann-Whitney test, chi-square and binary logistic regression were used for data analysis. the prevalence of frailty was 26.5% (n=36). Frail individuals had older age (p=0.011), worse self-rated health (p=0.001) and lower physical capacity (p<0.001). In the multivariable regression, it was observed that frail individuals had older age (Odds Ratio=1.111; 95% confidence interval=1.026-1.203) and worse physical capacity (Odds Ratio=0.673; 95% confidence interval=0.508-0.893). the prevalence of frailty in older people in Primary Health Care was considerable. Advanced age and worse physical capacity were the most relevant predictors of frailty in the elderly.

Highlights

METHODSWith the aging of the population, the frailty syndrome (FS) emerges as an emerging phenomenon with implications for public health and clinical practice[1]
The identification of frailty as well as predictors of FS are central to the development of a care plan for older people in Primary Health Care (PHC)
More than four of the older people investigated were considered frail, this value being higher when compared to data from a systematic review (n=45 studies) carried out in Europe with frailty phenotype (FP) (26.5% versus 12%)(7)

Summary

Introduction

With the aging of the population, the frailty syndrome (FS) emerges as an emerging phenomenon with implications for public health and clinical practice[1]. A review work (n=43 studies) reported an estimated prevalence of FH in the community, assessed through the frailty phenotype (FP), of 12%, with a prevalence rate between 10 and 14%(7). It is estimated that a quarter to half of people aged 85 years and over have FS, and the prevalence of frailty increases with age[9]. Despite this information, FS is not synonymous with advanced age, multimorbidity or disability[2]. In Portugal, data on the prevalence of FS in the community, in different studies, ranged between 34.5% and 36.5%(11–13)

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Results

Conclusion