Frailty levels of elderly people and their association with sociodemographic characteristics

Gross, Carolina Baldissera; Kolankiewicz, Adriane Cristina Bernat; Schmidt, Catiele Raquel; Berlezi, Evelise Moraes

doi:10.1590/1982-0194201800030

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Original Article • Acta Paul Enferm 31 (2) • Mar-Apr 2018 • https://doi.org/10.1590/1982-0194201800030 linkcopy

Frailty levels of elderly people and their association with sociodemographic characteristics

Authorship SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

Abstract

Objective Verify the association between frailty in the elderly and sociodemographic characteristics.

Methods Cross-sectional population-based study, involving 555 elderly assigned to the Family Health Strategies in the urban region of a city in the Northwest of Rio Grande do Sul/ Brazil. The data were collected between April and December 2015, using an interview with sociodemographic characteristics and assessment of frailty according to Fried’s criteria: unintentional weight loss in the past year, grip strength; gait speed, level of physical activity and self-referred fatigue. Descriptive and analytic statistics were used.

Results It was evidenced that, in the older and female elderly, the prevalence of frailty is higher. An association between marital status and housing was observed when analyzed in relation to sex; in addition, when the frailty components were observed, fatigue was associated with sex. In the bivariate and multivariate analysis, relating frailty with the sociodemographic variables, it was verified that age influences frailty. Also, the prevalence of frailty in the study population surpasses that in other Brazilian studies.

Conclusion The results appoint aspects related to family care and support for the elderly, which are that necessary as old age advances. Despite the importance of incorporating this care and support into the health teams’ routine for all elderly assigned to the coverage area of the Family Health Strategy, based on our results, elder and female elderly who live alone should receive priority in primary health care.

Primary health care; Aging; Frail elderly

Variables		Female n(%)	Male n(%)	p-value*
Age range	<80 years	282(62.3)	171(37.7)	0.169
Age range	≥80 years	56 (54.9)	46(45.1)
Education**	Primary education (-)	294(61.6)	183(38.4)	0.334
Education**	Secondary education (+)	43(55.8)	34(44.2)
Family income	Up to 3 minimum wages	268(61.6)	167(38.4)	0.515
Family income	≥ 3 minimum wages	70(58.3)	50(41.7)
Marital status	Single/divorced/widowed	149(74.5)	51(25.5)	<0.001
Marital status	Married	189(53.2)	166(46.8)
Lives	Single	57(72.2)	22(27.8)	0.027
Lives	With companion	281(59.0)	195(41.0)

Frailty components	Female n(%)	Male n(%)	Total n(%)	p-value*
Weight loss	52(15.4)	31(14.3)	83(14.95)	0.723
Fatigue	126(37.3)	51(23.5)	177(31.89)	0.001
Muscle weakness	62(18.3)	38(17.5)	100(18.02)	0.804
Slow gait	59(17.5)	40(18.4)	99(17.84)	0.769
Low level of energy expenditure	60(17.8)	33(15.2)	93(16.76)	0.434

Variables	Frail n(%)	Non-frail n(%)	*Bivariate Analysis	p-value	**Multivariate Analyses
Variables	Frail n(%)	Non-frail n(%)	PR (95% CI)	p-value	PR (95% CI)	p-value
Age
≥80 years	85 (83.3)	17 (16.7)	3.54	0.001*	3.58	0.001*
<80 years	265(58.5)	188(41.5)	(2.04- 6.17)		(2.03 -6.29)
Sex
Female	220(65.1)	118(34.9)	1.24	0.217	1.30	0.164
Male	130(59.9)	87(40.1)	(0.87-1.77)		(0.89 -1.88)
Living alone
Yes	52 (65.8)	27(34.2)	1.15	0.583	1.10	0.736
No	298 (62.6)	178 (37.4)	(0.69 -1.89)		(0.61 -1.97)
***Marital Status
Single⁽⁺⁾	135(67.5)	65 (32.5)	1.35	0.104	1.07	0.733
Married	215(60.6)	140(39.4)	(0.93 -1.94)		(0.70 -1.65)
****Education
Primary Ed. (-)	306(64.2)	171(35.8)	1.34	0.237	1.08	0.753
Second. Ed. (+)	44 (57.1)	33 (42.9)	(0.82-2.18)		(0.64 -1.85)
Family Income
≤ 3 MW	282(64.8)	153(35.2)	1.40	0.101	1.36	0.174
> 3 MW	68 (56.7)	52 (43.3)	(0.93-2.12)	0.101	(0.87 -2.14)

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Escola Paulista de Enfermagem, Universidade Federal de São Paulo R. Napoleão de Barros, 754, 04024-002 São Paulo - SP/Brasil, Tel./Fax: (55 11) 5576 4430 - São Paulo - SP - Brazil
E-mail: actapaulista@unifesp.br

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[TFN1001] *Chi-square test; **Primary education (-) includes elderly who are illiterate and who have not finished primary education; Secondary education (+) includes elderly who have finished secondary education or not and elderly who have finished higher education or not