Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) of the Short Functional Geriatric Evaluation (SFGE) to Assess the Multidimensionality of Frailty in Community-Dwelling Older Adults

Giuseppe Liotta (), Grazia Lorusso, Olga Madaro, Valeria Formosa, Leonardo Emberti Gialloreti, Clara Donnoli, Fabio Riccardi, Stefano Orlando, Paola Scarcella, Joao Apostolo, Rosa Silva, Carina Dantas, Willeke van Staalduinen, Vincenzo De Luca, Maddalena Illario, Susanna Gentili and Leonardo Palombi
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Giuseppe Liotta: Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133 Rome, Italy
Grazia Lorusso: Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133 Rome, Italy
Olga Madaro: “Long Live the Elderly!” Program, Community of Sant’Egidio, 00153 Rome, Italy
Valeria Formosa: Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133 Rome, Italy
Leonardo Emberti Gialloreti: Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133 Rome, Italy
Clara Donnoli: Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133 Rome, Italy
Fabio Riccardi: Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133 Rome, Italy
Stefano Orlando: Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133 Rome, Italy
Paola Scarcella: Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133 Rome, Italy
Joao Apostolo: The Health Sciences Research Unit: Nursing (UICISA: E), Nursing School of Coimbra, 3000-076 Coimbra, Portugal
Rosa Silva: The Health Sciences Research Unit: Nursing (UICISA: E), Nursing School of Coimbra, 3000-076 Coimbra, Portugal
Carina Dantas: SHINE 2Europe, 3030-163 Coimbra, Portugal
Willeke van Staalduinen: AFEdemy—Academy on Age-Friendly Environments in Europe, 2806 ED Gouda, The Netherlands
Vincenzo De Luca: Department of Public Health, University of Naples “Federico II”, 80131 Naples, Italy
Maddalena Illario: Department of Public Health, University of Naples “Federico II”, 80131 Naples, Italy
Susanna Gentili: Aging Research Center, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet and Stockholm University, 17177 Stockholm, Sweden
Leonardo Palombi: Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133 Rome, Italy

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 5, 1-9

Abstract: The Short Functional Geriatric Evaluation (SFGE) is a multidimensional and short questionnaire to assess biopsychosocial frailty in older adults. This paper aims to clarify the latent factors of SFGE. Data were collected from January 2016 to December 2020 from 8800 community-dwelling older adults participating in the “Long Live the Elderly!” program. Social operators administered the questionnaire through phone calls. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was carried out to identify the quality of the structure of the SFGE. Principal component analysis was also performed. According to the SFGE score, 37.7% of our sample comprised robust, 24.0% prefrail, 29.3% frail, and 9.0% very frail individuals. Using the EFA, we identified three main factors: psychophysical frailty, the need for social and economic support, and the lack of social relationships. The Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin measure of sampling adequacy was 0.792, and Bartlett’s test of sphericity had a statistically significant result ( p -value < 0.001). The three constructs that emerged explain the multidimensionality of biopsychosocial frailty. The SFGE score, 40% of which is social questions, underlines the crucial relevance of the social domain in determining the risk of adverse health outcomes in community-dwelling older adults.

Keywords: EFA; SFGE; frailty; older adults; multidimensional evaluation; biopsychosocial frailty; assessment tool (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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