Multidimensional Frailty and Lifestyles of Community-Dwelling Older Portuguese Adults

Ana da Conceição Alves Faria, Maria Manuela F. P. S. Martins, Olga Maria Pimenta Lopes Ribeiro, João Miguel Almeida Ventura-Silva, Esmeralda Faria Fonseca, Luciano José Moreira Ferreira, Paulo João Figueiredo Cabral Teles and José Alberto Laredo-Aguilera ()
Additional contact information
Ana da Conceição Alves Faria: Abel Salazar Biomedical Sciences Institute, University of Porto, Rua Jorge de Viterbo Ferreira 228, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal
Maria Manuela F. P. S. Martins: CINTESIS@RISE, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal
Olga Maria Pimenta Lopes Ribeiro: CINTESIS@RISE, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal
João Miguel Almeida Ventura-Silva: Abel Salazar Biomedical Sciences Institute, University of Porto, Rua Jorge de Viterbo Ferreira 228, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal
Esmeralda Faria Fonseca: Centro Hospitalar Universitário de São João, 4200-319 Porto, Portugal
Luciano José Moreira Ferreira: Centro Hospitalar Universitário de São João, 4200-319 Porto, Portugal
Paulo João Figueiredo Cabral Teles: School of Economics, University of Porto, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal
José Alberto Laredo-Aguilera: Facultad de Fisioterapia y Enfermería, Campus de Fábrica de Armas, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Av de Carlos III, nº 21, 45071 Toledo, Spain

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 22, 1-14

Abstract: (1) Background: Lifestyles are referred to as conditioning factors for the frailty of older adults. However, there are few studies that explore its association. The objective of the present study is to analyze the association between sociodemographic, clinical, and lifestyle factors of older adults people with multidimensional frailty. (2) Methods: Descriptive and correlational study carried out with older adults people registered in a Health Unit in Portugal. Data were collected through a sociodemographic and clinical questionnaire and application of the Individual Lifestyle Profile and Tilburg Frailty Index to assess the lifestyles and multidimensional frailty of older adults, respectively. This last instrument, being of a multidimensional nature, assesses not only physical, but also psychological and social frailty, with a cut-off point of 6. (3) Results: Of the 300 older adults who participated, most were female (60.3%) and had a mean age of 81.34 ± 6.75 years. Moreover, 60.3% of the sample were frail older adults. Gender, marital status, number of household members, number of chronic diseases, number of daily medications, self-perception of health status and lifestyle and use of a walking device were associated with multidimensional frailty ( p ≤ 0.001). Healthy eating habits, physical activity, relational behaviour, preventive behaviour, and stress management were significantly associated with lower physical, psychological, and social frailty ( p ≤ 0.001). (4) Conclusions: When community health workers are aware of multidimensional frailty predictors and their components, they can intervene early and, consequently, delay the onset and progression of frailty in older adults.

Keywords: frailty; aged; lifestyle (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 (1)

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