Profile in frail older people over 60 years of age in five Colombian cities, 2021

Objective: To establish the frailty profile of older people living in the urban areas of Bucaramanga, Medellín, Pereira, Popayán and Santa Marta in Colombia, as frail people aged 60 or over are increasingly important in primary care due to demographic change. Methods: Cross-sectional study of 2506 participants, selected through two-stage probabilistic sampling, and classified according to the FRAIL scale, to measure frailty. A multiple correspondence model was built to define the frailty-pre-frailty and non-frailty profiles. Results: The prevalence of people with frailty is 9.6%, and pre-frailty is 60.8%. These conditions were independently associated with female sex, depression, dependence for basic daily activities and falls. Similarly, the profile of pre-frail and frail elderly is determined by disability, falls, high nutritional risk, physical inactivity, being a woman and low socioeconomic status. Conclusion: Frail and pre-frail elderly people have modifiable characteristics (disability, falls, nutritional risk, physical inactivity and socioeconomic status), in order to reduce the prevalence of this condition. It is recommended that elderly people be able to enter care programs at different levels, in order to contribute to healthy aging processes.