Frailty and related factors among community-dwelling older adults in Türkiye

Abstract Background Frailty in elderly can lead to complex challenges in the follow-up and management of health services. Ensuring comprehensive primary care services and social support can avert, reverse, or mitigate frailty in old age. We aimed to evaluate frailty and its associated factors in individuals aged ≥65 years. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study in patients applying to primary care centres in 2024, in a city where 10% of the population is elderly. The centres were divided into clusters based on the socioeconomic status of the regions they serve, and nine were randomly selected by weight. A total of 1154 elderly who consecutively presented were included. A questionnaire including sociodemographic characteristics, Edmonton Frailty Scale, Loneliness Scale for the Elderly (LSE), Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), International Falls Effectiveness Scale (FES-I) was applied to the elderly. Results The mean age was 71.3±5.3 years, and 50.8% were male. In the study, 20.1% were frail, and 19.6% were apparently vulnerable. It was found that those aged 70-79 and ≥80 years, women, deceased/separated from their spouses, those with low education, those whose occupation was housewife, those earning below minimum wage, those who lived alone, non-exercisers, those taking >8 medications/day, and those who had ≥2 falls/last year were more frail. In multivariate logistic regression analysis, illiteracy (Odds ratio-OR:15.2, 95%CI:1.7-135.5), taking >8 medications/day (OR:4.1, 1.7-9.9), falling ≥2 times/last year (OR:3.4, 1.8-6.4) and ≥4 points on the CCI (OR:1.9, 1.0-3.4) were found to be predictors of frailty. Each score on the FES-I and LSE increased the risk of frailty by 1.08 (1.05-1.11) and 1.13 (1.08-1.17) times, respectively. Conclusions One in five people was found to be frail. Low education level, >8 medications/day, ≥2 falls in the last year, severity of comorbidity, fear of falling, and high levels of loneliness were found to be predictive factors for frailty. Key messages • Encouraging a healthy lifestyle to prevent comorbid diseases and early interventions to avoid falls can reduce frailty. • Providing social activities in primary care and promoting the elderly to participate in these activities can help prevent loneliness, which is a risk factor of frailty.