Frailty Syndrome in Older Adults and Related Sociodemographic Factors in the North of Iran: A Population-Based Study

The global incidence rate of frailty syndrome among older adults aged 60 years and over has been estimated to be 43.4 cases per 1000 persons/years.

This study aimed to determine the prevalence of pre-frailty and frailty syndromes in community-dwelling older adults and assess the correlated sociodemographic factors.

All elderly people recruited in the second phase of the Amirkola Health and Ageing Cohort Project, including 2135 older adults aged ≥60 years living in Amirkola, North of Iran, were invited to participate in this study using the census method. The standard "FRAIL" scale was used to assess the frailty syndrome. The individuals who obtained a score of three or more and one or two were classified as frail and pre-frail cases, respectively.

Totally, 2010 older adults with a mean age of 70.41±7.65 years were included in this study. Out of them, 672 (33.4%; 95% CI: 31.37-35.50%) cases met the criteria for frailty syndrome, and 874 (43.5%) individuals were regarded as pre-frail. The prevalence of frailty was significantly higher in females (50.8%; 95% CI: 47.58-54.05%), compared to males (18.7%; 95% CI: 16.41-21.05%). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that age ≥85 (OR=7.27; 95% CI: 4.12-24.46) and female gender (OR=2.67; 95% CI: 2.30-9.95) had the highest effect on frailty in older adults.

One out of every three elderly people (aged ≥60) in Amirkola, North of Iran, had frailty syndrome. Older age, female gender, lower education level, low level of satisfaction with income, marital status (single), living alone, and unemployment increased the risk of frailty in older adults.