Analysis of the status of social frailty in Chinese older adults with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases: a national cross-sectional study

Abstract

BackgroundSocial frailty is one type of frailty. Physical frailty with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases (CCVD) have been studied a lot, but less research on social frailty.ObjectivesTo study the prevalence, related risk factors and regional differences of social frailty with CCVD in Chinese older adults.MethodsSSAPUR was a national cross-sectional survey. Participants aged 60 years or older were recruited in August 2015. Demographic data and information regarding family, health and medical conditions, living environment conditions, social participation, spiritual and cultural life, and health condition were obtained. Social frailty was assessed in five areas (HALFE Social Frailty Index) including inability to help others, limited social participation, loneliness, financial difficulty, and living alone. The prevalence of CCVD with social frailty, related risk factors and regional differences in CCVD with social frailty were studied.ResultsA total of 222,179 participants were enrolled. 28.4% of them had CCVD history. The prevalence of social frailty in the CCVD group was 16.03%. In CCVD participants, compared with the group without social frailty, there were significant differences in gender, age, urban–rural distribution, ethnicity, marital status, and education levels in the social frailty group. Significant differences were also found in physical exercise participation, health status, cataract, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, hospitalization within 1 year, self-assessed health status, crutch or wheelchair usage, urinary and fecal incontinence, need for care from others, fall history, housing satisfaction, and self-assessed happiness in the social frailty group. Women with CCVD had a higher prevalence of social frailty than men. By age in CCVD with social frailty, the highest prevalence was found in participants 75–79 years old. The prevalence of CCVD was significant difference between social frailty in urban and rural group. The prevalence of social frailty with CCVD was significantly different in different regions. The highest prevalence was 20.4% in southwest area, and the lowest prevalence was 12.5% in northeast with area.ConclusionThe prevalence of social frailty among the CCVD older adults is high. Factors such as gender, age, region, urban–rural residence, and the state of the disease may be associated with social frailty.

Prevalence of social frailty and its associated factors in the older Chinese population: a national cross-sectional study

“…Physical frailty is more prevalent among women than men in advanced age, while the highest prevalence of social frailty in this study was observed in the 75–79 age group and did not significantly differ by gender. Additionally, low educational levels have been associated with a higher incidence of physical frailty in previous studies [ 9 , 11 , 33 , 35 , 37 ], but in our multivariate analysis, educational level did not show a significant relationship with social frailty.Analyze the reason, perhaps it is because that other factors such as urban-rural disparities, housing satisfaction and marriage status had a more significant impact on social frailty in our study. The association between educational level and social frailty in China need further research.…”

“…The survey focused on Chinese citizens aged 60 and above, resulting in the compilation of the largest database of older people in China. The sampling method used in the survey was previously described in a study [ 35 ]. The Fourth SSAPUR covered 31 provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities, and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps.…”

“…The Fourth SSAPUR covered 31 provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities, and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps. It encompassed 466 counties (districts), 1864 townships (sub-districts), and 7456 village (residential) committees.The survey questionnaire consisted of nine domains, including demographic information, family situation, health status, healthcare and nursing services, economic status, social activity, living environment, and spiritual and cultural life, which also encompassed psychological status.The questionnaire was designed in both simplified and detailed forms, as outlined in a previous study [ 35 ].…”

“…Older adults living alone are susceptible to social isolation, loneliness, and depression due to limited social networks [ 34 ]. In our study, we employed the HALFE(“HALFE” is an acronym for the five components: Help, pArticipation, Loneliness, Financial and living alonE)scale as a screening tool for social frailty [ 35 ].…”