Frailty Indexed Classification of Bangladeshi Older Adults’ Physio-psychosocial Health and Associated Risk Factors - A Cross-sectional Survey Study

Abstract

Background: Frailty is associated with healthy ageing, and it has been identified as a means of measuring older adults’ physio-psychosocial health. This is true that we know about the ageing trends and common diseases of older adults living in South Asia, but literature to date does not widely feature their health status based on frailty, especially in Bangladesh. This study aims to understand the prevalence of frailty in Bangladeshi older adults; classify their health status; and investigate associated risk factors.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in north-eastern region (i.e. Sylhet City Corporation) of Bangladesh. Four hundred participants aged 55 years and above were randomly selected, who attended in a health assessment session and completed a multi-indicator survey questionnaire. We developed a 30-indicators Frailty Index (FI30) to assess the participant’s health status and categorized: good health (no-frail/Fit); slightly poor health (least or mild frailty); poor health (moderately frailty); and very poor health (frailest/severe frailty). Pearson chi-square test and binary logistic regression analysis were conducted.Results: The participants’ mean age was 63.6 years, and 61.6% of them were assessed in poor to very poor health (moderately frail/36.3% - frailest/25.3%). The oldest aged, female and participants from the lower family income were found frailer than their counterparts. Participants aged 70 years and above were more likely (adjusted OR: 4.23, 95 % CI: 2.26–7.92, p < 0.0001) to experience frailty (medical conditions) than the pre-elderly age group (55-59 years). Female participants were more vulnerable (adjusted OR=1.847, 95% CI: 0.84-2.64, p < 0.0174) to frail (medical conditions) than male. Also, the older adults who had higher family income (Income>$473.3) found a lower risk (adjusted OR: 0.294, 95% CI: 0.11-0.76, p<0.011) of frailty (poor health).Conclusion: Our study results confirm the prevalence of frailty-related disorders in Bangladeshi older adults and highlight the importance of targeted clinical and community-led preventive care programs.