Identifying frailty levels and associated factors in a population living in the context of poverty and social vulnerability

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate a vulnerable population living in the context of poverty in a Brazilian municipality, in order to identify the factors that are associated with frailty syndrome in elderly people. From the total population living in the area, a random sample of 363 community-dwelling people, 60 years and older, age and gender-stratified, was selected to participate in the research. After losses, a sample of 304 older adults was classified as non-frail, pre-frail and frail. According to the Fried frailty criteria, the prevalence was 12.2% for non-frail individuals, 60.5% pre-frail and 27.3% frail. The main factors associated with frailty in the studied sample were low level of physical activity (OR: 5.2 95% CI: 2.5 - 11.0), the occurrence of two or more falls within 12 months (OR: 3.1 95% CI: 1.4 - 7.1), mobility deficits (OR: 3.0 95% CI: 1.5 - 5.8), and depressive symptoms (OR: 1.9 95% CI: 1.1 - 3.7). This study identified the most important factors that must be evaluated to identify frailty syndrome in a socially vulnerable population in the context of poverty. The data should help to encourage effective strategies concerning public health policies for this population. (AU)