Multidimensional and Physical Frailty in Elderly People: Participation in Senior Organizations Does Not Prevent Social Frailty and Most Prevalent Psychological Deficits

Abstract

The study explores how the involvement in community-based senior organizations affects the prevalence of multidimensional and physical frailty among community dwelling elderly people. Materials and Methods: The group of 1,024 elderly people (270 males) over the age of 65 years (mean age 72.6 ± 6.3 years; range 65-93 years) took part in this study. The subjects completed a questionnaire regarding multidimensional (i.e., the Tilburg Frailty Indicator, TFI) and physical frailty (i.e., the FRAIL scale), as well as factors associated with frailty and participation in senior organizations. Results: The prevalence of multidimensional frailty (if at least 5 points in the TFI) was 54.6%, and the prevalence of physical frailty (if at least 3 points in the FRAIL scale) and a non-robust status (if any point in the FRAIL scale was positive) was 6.3 and 52.9%, respectively. The most prevalent frailty deficits were missing other people (66.6%), feeling nervous or anxious (65.9%), and feeling down (65.5%). Members of senior organizations presented a lower prevalence of multidimensional and physical frailty comparing with non-members. This was mainly caused by a lower prevalence of physical deficits and problems with memory; however, the prevalence of social deficits was similar in both groups. Senior organizations had no influence on the most widespread frailty deficits, i.e., missing other people, feeling nervous or anxious, and feeling down. Conclusions: Multidimensional frailty and physical non-robust status are common among people over the age of 65 years. Participation in senior organizations is associated with lower risk of physical frailty; however, it has no effect on social frailty and the most prevalent psychological deficits. This information has important implications for practical management with senior problems and may influence community strategies concerning elderly people.

Multidimensional Frailty and Lifestyles of Community-Dwelling Older Portuguese Adults

“…Frailty caused by advancing age is a major public health problem and a challenge for health care professionals [ 2 ]. In our study, most of the older adults were frail; hence, it is in line with several published studies, namely, a study conducted in Portugal, where the prevalence of frailty, assessed by TFI, was 54.8% [ 5 ]; a study in Poland where the prevalence was 54.6% [ 18 ]; and a study in Brazil with 65.25% [ 19 ]. Researchers report that the differences are due to the different sociocultural and economic contexts associated with where the older adults people live [ 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 ].…”

Prevalence of Frailty and Its Standardised Assessment Tools among Malaysian Older Person: A Systematic Review

“…Frailty is a multidimensional factor that is not limited to physical performance capabilities and components, including psychological, cognitive, clinical and social aspects ( 9 , 33 ). A one-dimensional tool or self-report questionnaire may be helpful as an early method of identifying frailty but further screening that encompasses multidimensional factors is vital in deriving more accurate clinical findings and ensuring a holistic management of the condition.…”

Determinants of Multidimensional and Physical Frailty and Their Individual Components: Interactions between Frailty Deficits

“…The aforementioned inverse relationships between frailty components suggest that some deficits may prevent other ones. Indeed, circumstances and external stimuluses may provoke kinds of activity among the elderly subjects provided that the intensity of such factors does not cross the limits of their capabilities [ 11 , 28 ]. The necessity to address daily needs and different types of issues may access some energy layers in the elderly individuals and enable them to preserve good functioning and independence.…”

“…The strength of this study is the observation that the individual frailty deficits determine each other, and the impairments in the physical domain are mainly affected by psychological deficits which in turn are additionally impacted by social deficits. This may shed more light for mechanisms accelerating frailty development and help to design a more comprehensive approach to frailty [ 6 , 7 , 11 , 17 , 18 ].…”

“…The research protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee at the Poznan University of Medical Sciences and all participants gave their informed consent. More details on the activities of community-based senior organizations in Poland may be found elsewhere [ 11 ].…”