Prevalence of Frailty and Its Association with Depressive Symptoms among European Older Adults from 17 Countries: A 5-Year Longitudinal Study

Priscila Marconcin (), Sharon Barak, Gerson Ferrari, Élvio R. Gouveia, Marcelo de Maio Nascimento, Renata Willig, Margarida Varela and Adilson Marques
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Priscila Marconcin: CIPER-Interdisciplinary Centre for the Study of Human Performance Faculty of Human Kinetics, University of Lisbon, 1495-751 Lisbon, Portugal
Sharon Barak: Department of Nursing, School of Health Sciences, Ariel University, Ariel 4076414, Israel
Gerson Ferrari: Escuela de Ciencias de la Actividad Física, el Deporte y la Salud, Universidad de Santiago de Chile (USACH), Santiago 9170022, Chile
Élvio R. Gouveia: Department of Physical Education and Sport, University of Madeira, 9020-105 Funchal, Portugal
Marcelo de Maio Nascimento: Department of Physical Education, Federal University of Vale do São Francisco, Petrolina 56304-917, Brazil
Renata Willig: KinesioLab, Research Unit in Human Movement Analysis, Piaget Institute, 2805-059 Almada, Portugal
Margarida Varela: RECI—Research Unit in Education and Community Intervention, Piaget Institute, 2805-059 Almada, Portugal
Adilson Marques: CIPER-Interdisciplinary Centre for the Study of Human Performance Faculty of Human Kinetics, University of Lisbon, 1495-751 Lisbon, Portugal

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 21, 1-11

Abstract: Background: This study aimed to examine the association between frailty and depressive symptoms. Methods: Cross-sectional and five-year longitudinal study. Data were from the population-based Survey of Health, Aging, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) waves six (2015) and eight (2020). Frailty was assessed using the SHARE-Frailty Instrument. Fatigue, appetite, walking difficulties, and physical activity were self-reported, and grip strength was measured using a handgrip dynamometer. The EURO-D 12-item scale was used to measure depressive symptoms. Results: The sample comprised 25,771 older adults (56.2% female) with a mean age of 66.5 (95% CI 66.4, 66.6) years. The prevalence of frailty was 4.2% (95% CI 3.9, 4.4) in 2015 and 6.7% (95% CI 13.5, 14.3) in 2020. Among frail participants, 72.5% and 69.6% had depression in 2015 and 2020, respectively. Frailty was associated with depression over the 5 years. Those with pre-frailty and those with frailty in 2015 had 1.86 (95% CI 1.71, 2.01) and 2.46 (95% CI 2.14, 2.83) greater odds of having depressive symptoms in 2020. Conclusions: Frailty is a predictor of depression in older adults, and frail participants had greater odds of presenting depressive symptoms.

Keywords: frailty; depressive symptoms; old age; SHARE database (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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