Worsening frailty in community-dwelling older people with hypertension and associated factors

Abstract

Objective To estimate the prevalence and factors associated with the worsening of frailty in older people with arterial hypertension. Methods Quantitative, longitudinal, prospective and analytical study. Carried out in community-dwelling hypertensive older people from Minas Gerais. Sampling was probabilistic, by clusters in two stages. Data collection took place at the older people's homes in two moments. Demographic, socioeconomic and clinical-assistance variables were analyzed. Frailty was measured by the Edmonton Frailty Scale. Poisson regression with robust variance was used to obtain crude and adjusted prevalence ratios. Results 281 older people participated in the study, 23.1% showed a worsening of their state of frailty. The prevalence of frailty increased from 38.0% in the base year to 31.2% in the first wave. The worsening of frailty was associated with negative self-perception of health, polypharmacy and hospitalization in the last 12 months. Conclusion There was a transition between states of frailty. An important contingent of the older people showed worsening frailty.