Prevalence and factors associated with frailty among community-dwelling older people in rural Thanjavur district of South India: a cross-sectional study

ObjectiveThere is sparse data on the prevalence of frailty from rural parts of India. Our aim was to estimate prevalence of frailty among community-dwelling older people in rural South Indian population and explore socio-demographic factors associated with frailty. We further explored the associations between frailty with fear of falling and falls.DesignCommunity based cross-sectional study.SettingFour villages in Thanjavur district of Southern India.ParticipantsRandom sample of adults aged 60 years and above from four villages.MethodsWe sampled community-dwelling older adults from the electoral list of four villages using stratified random sampling. We report prevalence of frailty as defined by physical definition (Fried’s Phenotype), accumulation of deficits (Frailty Index) and multi-domain definition (Tilburg Frailty Indicator). We report proportion of agreement of frailty status between the frailty tools. We used logistic regressions with robust SEs to examine the associations between socio-demographic determinants with frailty and the association between frailty with fear of falling and falls.ResultsAmong the 408 participants, the weighted (non-response and poststratification for sex) prevalence and 95% CI of frailty was 28% (18.9 to 28.1) for physical definition, 59% (53.9 to 64.3) for accumulation of deficits and 63% (57.4 to 67.6) for multi-domain definition. Frailty Index and Tilburg Frailty Indicator had good agreement (80%). Age, female, lower education, lower socioeconomic status, minimum physical activity in routine work were independently associated with frailty irrespective of the frailty definitions. Frail elderly had higher odds of falls as well as fear of falling compared with non-frail, irrespective of the definitions.ConclusionPrevalence of frailty among older people in rural Thanjavur district of South India was high compared with low-income and middle-income countries. Understanding the modifiable determinants of frailty can provide a valuable reference for future prevention and intervention.

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Relationship between Perceived Indoor Temperature and Self-Reported Risk for Frailty among Community-Dwelling Older People

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph16040613 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 16 (4) ◽

pp. 613 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Yukie Nakajima ◽

Steven Schmidt ◽

Agneta Malmgren Fänge ◽

Mari Ono ◽

Toshiharu Ikaga

Keyword(s):

Older People ◽

Economic Status ◽

Frailty Index ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Indoor Temperature ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Economic Satisfaction ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Community Dwelling Older People

This study investigated the relationship between perceived indoor temperature in winter and frailty among community-dwelling older people. This cross-sectional study included 342 people 65 years and older in Japan. Participants answered questions about demographics, frailty, housing, and perceived indoor temperature in winter. Participants were grouped based on perceived indoor temperature (Cold or Warm) and economic satisfaction (Unsatisfied or Satisfied). Differences in the frailty index between perceived indoor temperature groups and economic satisfaction groups were tested by using ANCOVA and MANCOVA. An interaction effect showed that people in the Cold Group and unsatisfied with their economic status had significantly higher frailty index scores (F(1, 336) = 5.95, p = 0.015). Furthermore, the frailty index subscale of fall risk was the specific indicator of frailty that accounted for this significant relationship. While previous research has shown the risks related to cold indoor temperature in homes, interestingly among those who reported cold homes, only those who were not satisfied with their economic situation reported being at increased risk for frailty. This highlights the potential importance of preventing fuel poverty to prevent frailty.

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Prevalence and Risk Factors of Frailty in a Community-Dwelling Population: The HELIAD Study

Journal of Aging and Health ◽

10.1177/0898264318801735 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 32 (1-2) ◽

pp. 14-24 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

E. Ntanasi ◽

M. Yannakoulia ◽

N. Mourtzi ◽

G. S. Vlachos ◽

M. H. Kosmidis ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Population Studies ◽

Frailty Index ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Tilburg Frailty Indicator ◽

Frailty Indicator

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of frailty using five different instruments in a cohort of older adults and explore the association between frailty and various risk factors. Method: 1,867 participants aged 65 years and above were included in the current retrospective cross-sectional study. Frailty was operationalized according to the Fried definition, the FRAIL Scale, the Frailty Index (FI), the Tilburg Frailty Indicator (TFI), and the Groningen Frailty Index (GFI). We explored the role of various frailty risk factors using logistic regression analyses. Results: The prevalence of frailty varied depending on the definition used (Fried definition = 4.1%, FRAIL Scale = 1.5%, FI = 19.7%, TFI = 24.5%, and GFI = 30.2%). The only risk factors consistently associated with frailty irrespectively of definition were education and age. Conclusion: The frailty prevalence reported in our study is similar or lower to that reported in other population studies. Qualitative differences between frailty definitions were observed.

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Fear of falling in robust community-dwelling older people: results of a cross-sectional study

Journal of Clinical Nursing ◽

10.1111/jocn.12613 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 24 (3-4) ◽

pp. 393-405 ◽

Cited By ~ 36

Author(s):

Justina YW Liu

Keyword(s):

Older People ◽

Fear Of Falling ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Community Dwelling Older People

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Drug Burden Index associated with function in community-dwelling older people in Finland: A cross-sectional study

Annals of Medicine ◽

10.3109/07853890.2011.573499 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 44 (5) ◽

pp. 458-467 ◽

Cited By ~ 35

Author(s):

Danijela Gnjidic ◽

J. Simon Bell ◽

Sarah N. Hilmer ◽

Eija Lönnroos ◽

Raimo Sulkava ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older People ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Drug Burden Index ◽

Community Dwelling Older People

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Nutritional Status and Risk Factors for Frailty in Community-Dwelling Older People: A Cross-Sectional Study

Nutrients ◽

10.3390/nu12041041 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (4) ◽

pp. 1041 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Pilar Pérez-Ros ◽

Rafael Vila-Candel ◽

Lourdes López-Hernández ◽

Francisco Miguel Martínez-Arnau

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Risk Factors ◽

Nutritional Status ◽

Older People ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Community Dwelling Older People ◽

The Relationship

Objective: This study aims to assess the relationship that frailty has with nutritional status and functional risk factors in community-dwelling older adults. Methods: Cross-sectional study in community-dwelling older people, independent for walking and without impaired cognition. Frailty was assessed by Fried criteria. Nutritional status was analyzed by the Mini Nutritional Assessment Short Form (MNA-SF), biochemical markers (albumin, total proteins, cholesterol, lymphocytes, and hemoglobin); and anthropometric parameters (body mass index [BMI], body fat percentage, handgrip, and perimeters). A comprehensive geriatric assessment analyzed other risk factors: functionality, cognition, falls, comorbidity, polypharmacy, physical activity, and quality of life (QoL). Results: We included 564 elderly people with a mean age of 76.05 (standard deviation 3.97) years; 63.1% (n = 356) were women, and 83.9% (n = 473) were prefrail, and frail. The sample presented high functionality and a nutritional status with a predominance of overweight and obesity. Factors associated with frailty (R2 = 0.43) were age over 75 years (odds ratio [OR] 3.31, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.76, 6.21; p < 0.001), female gender (OR 2.37, 95% CI 1.24, 4.52; p = 0.009), anemia (OR 2.45, 95% CI 1.19, 5.02; p = 0.015), falls (OR 1.94, 95% CI 1.12, 3.25; p = 0.016) and the fear of falling (OR 4.01: 95% CI 1.76, 9.16; p = 0.001). Performing more than 3 weekly hours of physical activity was found to be a protective factor (OR 0.23, 95% CI 0.15, 0.35; p < 0.001). Conclusions: The relationship between frailty and malnutrition in functionally independent community-dwelling older people is unclear. More studies are needed to know what nutritional markers are related to frailty, cognition, and functionality in order to discriminate the risk factors for community-dwelling older people at risk of malnutrition and dependency.

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