Frailty and Its Correlates in Older Adults: A Challenging and Preventable Geriatric Syndrome

Abstract

Objective: Frailty syndrome, defined as increased vulnerability to stressors, is an important cause of the negative health consequences of older adults. Defining related factors and struggling with these factors can be an important way for the prevention of frailty. This study aims to investigate the related factors of frailty using comprehensive geriatric assessment in community dwelled older adults attended the geriatric medicine outpatient clinic. Materials and Methods: A total of 1001 patients aged 65 years and over were included in this study. Demographical characteristics, chronic illnesses, medications, were evaluated and recorded. Comprehensive geriatric assessment and anthropometric measurements were performed for each patient. The frailty status of patients was determined using the Edmonton frailty scale (EFS) and Fried's frailty index (FFI). The rate of frailty and associated factors were examined. Results: Frailty rate was detected as 15.4% and 11.8% according to the FFI and EFS, respectively. Advanced age, educational status lower than university level, having dementia, depression, diabetes mellitus, coronary artery disease, higher malnutrition risk, lower activities of daily living scores, lower handgrip strength and absence of hyperlipidemia were the independently associated factors of frailty by FFI or EFS. Conclusion: Frailty is a common geriatric syndrome that has interaction with other geriatric syndromes and cardiovascular diseases. Most of the related factors of frailty are reversible or preventable. A comprehensive assessment is essential for the prevention of frailty.