Assessment of Physical Fitness and Risk Factors for the Occurrence of the Frailty Syndrome among Social Welfare Homes’ Residents over 60 Years of Age in Poland

Abstract

The study aimed at assessing physical fitness and occurrence of the frailty syndrome among social welfare homes’ residents as well as defining factors which determine the level of frailty and its occurrence. The examination included 198 residents (115 females and 83 males of average age 75.5 ± 10.21) and was carried out with the use of the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) test with the following cut-off points: 0–6—frail, 7–9—pre-frail, 10–12—non-frail. The research additionally collected data regarding age, gender, number of chronic diseases, education level, type of prior work and current physical activity. In addition, the height and weight of the respondents were measured. The frailty syndrome was found in more than a half of the examinees (104; 52.53%), the pre-frailty state in 30.30% (n = 60) and 17.17% (n = 34) were non-frail. The average result of the SPPB test was 6.52 ± 2.73, which proves a moderate limitation of the sample group’s fitness. No significant differences were noted between female and male respondents (p = 0.27). The multifactorial linear regression model showed that independent and direct frailty syndrome predicators included age, number of chronic diseases and regular physical activity (p < 0.05). In conclusion, promoting and encouraging regular, age and interest-related forms of physical activity among seniors might foster the maintenance of their physiological reservoir and functional efficiency.

The level of actual functional fitness of men from different living environments in Poland and associations with health - a cross-sectional study

“…It has been documented that improving health-related physical condition, including cardiovascular fitness, muscle strength and endurance, flexibility and body composition, is vital to improving health and quality of life at all ages [ 5 – 8 ]. Maintaining a satisfactory level of functional physical fitness through regular exercise is very beneficial in alleviating and preventing metabolic diseases [ 9 – 11 ] in cardiovascular and respiratory disorders [ 12 , 13 ], in conditions of the osteoarticular system [ 14 , 15 ] and the more and more often occurring sarcopenia and frailty syndrome [ 16 , 17 ]. The American College of Sports Medicine and the American Heart Association published a recommendation clearly identifying the beneficial role of high-intensity exercise.…”

“…There is a lower percentage of men in the studied populations of seniors [ 7 , 16 , 20 ]. In Poland, in 2020, the percentage of men in the population of people over 60 was 48.9%.…”

“…Therefore, in order for seniors in institutions to have a good quality of life and a long life, continuous monitoring of their physical condition and health status is essential. There is a lot of current research on the functional fitness and health status of older people living in the community [ 22 , 24 , 32 – 35 ] but much less research on institutionalized older people [ 36 – 39 ] and especially in Poland [ 16 , 40 , 41 ]. Furthermore, the associations of physical fitness with physical activity and health status among seniors living in social welfare homes and in the community have been poorly studied.…”