Multidimensional Frailty and Lifestyles of Community-Dwelling Older Portuguese Adults

• Published in: International journal of environmental research and public health Vol. 19; no. 22; p. 14723
• Main Authors: Faria, Ana da Conceição Alves, Martins, Maria Manuela F P S, Ribeiro, Olga Maria Pimenta Lopes, Ventura-Silva, João Miguel Almeida, Fonseca, Esmeralda Faria, Ferreira, Luciano José Moreira, Teles, Paulo João Figueiredo Cabral, Laredo-Aguilera, José Alberto
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 09-11-2022; MDPI
• Subjects: Adults; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Aging; Chronic illnesses; Data collection; Ethnicity; Female; Frailty; Frailty - epidemiology; Health care; Humans; Independent Living; Life Style; Lifestyles; Male; Medical personnel; Multidimensional methods; Older people; Perceptions; Physical activity; Portugal; Professional ethics; Quality of life; Questionnaires; Sociodemographics; Portugal; aged; frailty; lifestyle
• ISSN: 1660-4601; 1661-7827; 1660-4601
• DOI: 10.3390/ijerph192214723

(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 (
≤ 0.001). Healthy eating habits, physical activity, relational behaviour, preventive behaviour, and stress management were significantly associated with lower physical, psychological, and social frailty (
≤ 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.