Status and influencing factors of frailty among elderly people aged 60 or above in a remote area in Hu'nan province

Abstract

Objective To evaluate the status and influencing factors of frailty among elderly people aged 60 or above in a remote area in Hu'nan Province and to provide evidence for preventing frailty among the elderly people in remotely rural areas. Methods Totally 101 elderly people aged≥ 60 were selected from Shizhu Village, Dongkou County, Shaoyang City, Hu'nan Province using convenient sampling between July and September 2018. The elderly people's demographic indicators, complications, smoking and drinking history, physical exercise and sleep quality were collected. Vulnerable Elders Survey (VES-13) was used to evaluate the frailty among elderly people, and Logistic regression analysis was employed to analyze and screen the risk factors of frailty. Results Totally 39 out of the 101 (38.6%) elders showed frailty. Univariate analysis showed that there was statistically significant difference in frailty between elders with different age, mode of living, number of complications and physical exercise (P<0.05) . According to Logistic regression analysis, the independent risk factors of frailty among the elders aged 60 or above in remote areas included aged 70-79 (OR=8.406, 95%CI: 2.381-29.684, P=0.001) , aged 80-89 (OR=14.087, 95%CI: 2.372-83.673, P=0.004) , number of complications≥ 3 (OR=8.458, 95%CI: 1.307-54.754, P=0.025) , and lack of physical exercise (OR=12.448, 95%CI: 3.165-48.961, P<0.001) . Conclusions Frailty is common in the elders in remote areas, which is associated with venerable age, multiple complications and lack of physical exercise. Therefore, we should pay attention to the frailty among the elders in remote areas and provide intervention accordingly. Key words: Aged; Frailty; Rural area; Influencing factors