Exploring the correlates of frailty among hospitalized older adults: A cross-sectional study in a Saudi teaching hospital

Frailty is an important public health concern associated with aging. It increases the risk of adverse clinical outcomes, such as falls, late-life dependency, hospitalization, disability, and mortality. The objectives of this study were to estimate the prevalence of frailty and to identify factors as...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Medicine (Baltimore) Vol. 103; no. 25; p. e38603
Main Authors:	Alamri, Sultan H, Mealif, Hetaf M
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	United States Lippincott Williams & Wilkins 21-06-2024
Subjects:	Aged Aged, 80 and over Comorbidity Cross-Sectional Studies Female Frail Elderly - statistics & numerical data Frailty - epidemiology Geriatric Assessment Hospital Mortality Hospitalization - statistics & numerical data Hospitals, Teaching - statistics & numerical data Humans Length of Stay - statistics & numerical data Male Observational Study Polypharmacy Prevalence Risk Factors Saudi Arabia - epidemiology Saudi Arabia
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Summary:	Frailty is an important public health concern associated with aging. It increases the risk of adverse clinical outcomes, such as falls, late-life dependency, hospitalization, disability, and mortality. The objectives of this study were to estimate the prevalence of frailty and to identify factors associated with frailty among older adults (≥65 years) admitted to King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. This cross-sectional study was conducted at King Abdulaziz University Hospital. The data were collected during the months of January and February 2022 and included demographic characteristics, comorbidities, length of stay, and hospital mortality. Frailty status of participants was assessed using the Clinical Frailty Scale. A total of 147 patients (aged ≥ 65 years) were included in our study. The prevalence rates of frailty and non-frailty were 71.4% and 28.6%, respectively. Frail patients had higher comorbidity index (P = .003), polypharmacy (P = .003), heart failure (P = .001), and prolonged hospital stays (P = .007). The results of the multiple logistic regression revealed that the tall patients had a lower risk of frailty (odds ratio = 0.0089, 95% confidence interval: 0.0001-0.7588, P = .042) and patients with higher comorbidity indexes had higher risk of frailty (odds ratio = 1.4907, 95% confidence interval: 1.1449-1.9927, P = .004). In this study, more than two-thirds of the hospitalized older patients were classified as frail. High comorbidity index, heart failure, and polypharmacy were strong predictors of frailty. Patients with frailty were more likely to have a prolonged hospital stay than those without frailty. Therefore, early detection of frailty and proper intervention are essential for improving health outcomes in this vulnerable population.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 ObjectType-Undefined-3
ISSN:	0025-7974 1536-5964 1536-5964
DOI:	10.1097/MD.0000000000038603