Top

Published in:

Open Access 01-12-2021 | Research article

Prevalence of frailty and associated factors among Saudi community-dwelling older adults: a cross-sectional study

Authors: Bader A. Alqahtani, Aqeel M. Alenazi, Mohammed M. Alshehri, Ahmed M. Osailan, Saud F. Alsubaie, Mohammed A. Alqahtani

Published in: BMC Geriatrics | Issue 1/2021

Abstract

Background

Prevalence of frailty has been previously established in different Western countries; however, the prevalence and the burden of in the aging populations of Saudi Arabia has not been examined. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of frailty, and associated factors among Saudi older population.

Methods

The study included a total of 486 community-dwelling elderly adults aged 60 years and over living in the Riyadh area. This study took place from August 2019 to June 2020. The prevalence of frailty was determined using the Fried’s frailty phenotype. Association between sociodemographic features and clinical factors and frailty was estimated by Odds Ratio and confidence intervals (OR, IC 95%) using a multinomial logistic regression model.

Results

The overall prevalence of pre-frailty and frailty were 47.3 and 21.4%, respectively. The following factors were associated with being frail: age (OR: 6.92; 95%CI 3.11–15.41); living alone (OR: 2.50; 95%CI: 1.12–5.59); had more chronic conditions (OR: 1.96; 95%CI: 1.16–3.30); and cognitive impairment (OR: 7.07; 95%CI: 3.92–12.74).

Conclusions

The Compared with other populations, the prevalence of frailty and pre-frailty in the Riyadh region of Saudi Arabia was high. The implications of frailty in this population should be discussed in future study.

United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs PD. World population ageing 2017: United Nations; 2017. p. 124. doi: ST/ESA/SER.A/348.CrossRef

Segev-Jacubovski O, Herman T, Yogev-Seligmann G, Mirelman A, Giladi N, Hausdorff JM. The interplay between gait, falls and cognition: can cognitive therapy reduce fall risk? Expert Rev Neurother. 2011;11(7):1057–75. https://doi.org/10.1586/ern.11.69.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Gangavati A, Hajjar I, Quach L, Jones RN, Kiely DK, Gagnon P, Lipsitz LA. Hypertension, orthostatic hypotension, and the risk of falls in a community-dwelling elderly population: the maintenance of balance, independent living, intellect, and zest in the elderly of Boston study. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2011;59(3):383–9. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-5415.2011.03317.x.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Lord SR. Visual risk factors for falls in older people. Age Ageing. 2006;35(Suppl 2):ii42–5.CrossRef

Ferrucci L, Guralnik JM, Studenski S, Fried LP, Cutler GB, Walston JD. Designing randomized, controlled trials aimed at preventing or delaying functional decline and disability in frail, older persons: a consensus report. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2004;52(4):625–34. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-5415.2004.52174.x.CrossRefPubMed

Ensrud KE, Ewing SK, Taylor BC, Fink HA, Stone KL, Cauley JA, Tracy JK, Hochberg MC, Rodondi N, Cawthon PM, for the Study of Osteoporotic Fractures Research Group. Frailty and risk of falls, fracture, and mortality in older women: the study of osteoporotic fractures. J Gerontol Ser A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2007;62(7):744–51. https://doi.org/10.1093/gerona/62.7.744.CrossRef

Cawthon PM, Marshall LM, Michael Y, Dam TT, Ensrud KE, Barrett-Connor E, Orwoll ES, for the Osteoporotic Fractures in Men Research Group. Frailty in older men: prevalence, progression, and relationship with mortality. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2007;55(8):1216–23. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-5415.2007.01259.x.CrossRefPubMed

Nations U. World population ageing [highlights]. 2017. http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/publications/pdf/ageing/WPA2017_Highlights.pdf. Accessed 20 Mar 2018.

Abellan van Kan G, Rolland Y, Andrieu S, Bauer J, Beauchet O, Bonnefoy M, Cesari M, Donini LM, Gillette-Guyonnet S, Inzitari M, Nourhashemi F, onder G, Ritz P, Salva A, Visser M, Vellas B. Gait speed at usual pace as a predictor of adverse outcomes in community-dwelling older people an international academy on nutrition and aging (IANA) task force. J Nutr Health Aging. 2009;13(10):881–9. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12603-009-0246-zhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19924348. Accessed 5 Feb 2015.CrossRefPubMed

10.

Van Kan GA, Rolland Y, Bergman H, Morley JE, Kritchevsky SB, Vellas B. The I.A.N.A. task force on frailty assessment of older people in clinical practice. J Nutr Health Aging. 2008;12(1):29–37. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02982161.CrossRef

11.

Rockwood K, Howlett SE, MacKnight C, Beattie BL, Bergman H, Hébert R, Hogan DB, Wolfson C, McDowell I. Prevalence, attributes, and outcomes of fitness and frailty in community-dwelling older adults: report from the Canadian study of health and aging. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2004;59(12):1310–7. https://doi.org/10.1093/gerona/59.12.1310.CrossRefPubMed

12.

Clegg A, Young J, Iliffe S, Rikkert MO, Rockwood K. Frailty in elderly people. Lancet. 2013;381:752–62. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(12)62167-9.CrossRefPubMed

13.

Siriwardhana DD, Hardoon S, Rait G, Weerasinghe MC, Walters KR. Prevalence of frailty and prefrailty among community-dwelling older adults in low-income and middle- income countries : a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ Open. 2018;8(3):1–17. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2017-018195.CrossRef

14.

Dent E, Kowal P, Hoogendijk EO. European journal of internal medicine frailty measurement in research and clinical practice : a review. Eur J Intern Med. 2016;31:3–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejim.2016.03.007.CrossRefPubMed

15.

Fried LP, Tangen CM, Walston J, Newman AB, Hirsch C, Gottdiener J, Seeman T, Tracy R, Kop WJ, Burke G, McBurnie MA. Frailty in older adults: evidence for a phenotype. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2001;56(3):M146–56. https://doi.org/10.1093/gerona/56.3.M146.CrossRefPubMed

16.

Liu CK, Fielding RA. Exercise as an intervention for frailty. Clin Geriatr Med. 2011;27(1):101–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cger.2010.08.001.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

17.

Pourhoseingholi MA, Vahedi M, Rahimzadeh M. Sample size calculation in medical studies. Gastroenterol Hepatol Bed Bench. 2013;6(1):14–7 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24834239.PubMedPubMedCentral

18.

Alqahtani BA, Nasser TA. Assessment of frailty in Saudi community-dwelling older adults: validation of measurements. Ann Saudi Med. 2019;39(3):197–204. https://doi.org/10.5144/0256-4947.2019.197.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

19.

Albanna M, Yehya A, Khairi A, Dafeeah E, Elhadi AM, Rezgui L, al Kahlout SR, Yousif AEM, Uthman B, al-Amin H. Validation and cultural adaptation of the Arabic versions of the mini-mental status examination - 2 and mini-cog test. Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat. 2017;13:793–801. https://doi.org/10.2147/NDT.S126825.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

20.

Dick JPR, Guiloff RJ, Stewart A. Mini-mental state examination in neurological patients. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 1984;47(5):496–9. https://doi.org/10.1136/jnnp.47.5.496.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

21.

Kojima G, Iliffe S, Taniguchi Y, Shimada H, Rakugi H, Walters K. Prevalence of frailty in Japan: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Epidemiol. 2017;27(8):347–53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.je.2016.09.008.CrossRefPubMed

22.

Collard RM, Boter H, Schoevers RA, Oude Voshaar RC. Prevalence of frailty in community-dwelling older persons: a systematic review. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2012;60(8):1487–92. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-5415.2012.04054.x.CrossRefPubMed

23.

Curcio C, Henao G, Gomez F. Frailty among rural elderly adults; 2014.CrossRef

24.

Xue QL. The frailty syndrome: definition and natural history. Clin Geriatr Med. 2011;27(1):1–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cger.2010.08.009.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

25.

Payne CF, Wade A, Kabudula CW, et al. Prevalence and correlates of frailty in an older rural African population : findings from the HAALSI cohort study. BMC Geriatr. 2017;17(1):1–10. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-017-0694-y.CrossRef

26.

Mitnitski AB, Mogilner AJ, Rockwood K. Accumulation of deficits as a proxy measure of aging. Sci World J. 2001;1:323–36. https://doi.org/10.1100/tsw.2001.58.CrossRef

27.

Jürschik Giménez P, Escobar Bravo MÁ, Nuin Orrio C, Botigué Satorra T. Frailty criteria in the elderly: a pilot study. Aten Primaria. 2011;43(4):190–6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aprim.2010.03.020.CrossRefPubMed

28.

Garcia-Garcia FJ, Gutierrez Avila G, Alfaro-Acha A, Amor Andres MS, de Los Angeles de la Torre Lanza M, Escribano Aparicio MV, Humanes Aparicio S, Larrion Zugasti JL, Gomez-Serranillo Reus M, Rodriguez-Artalejo F, Rodriguez-Manas L. The prevalence of frailty syndrome in an older population from Spain. The Toledo study for healthy aging. J Nutr Health Aging. 2011;15(10):852–6. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12603-011-0075-8.CrossRefPubMed

29.

Ottenbacher KJ, Graham JE, Al Snih S, et al. Mexican Americans and frailty: findings from the hispanic established populations epidemiologic studies of the elderly. Am J Public Health. 2009;99(4):673–9. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2008.143958.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

30.

Espinoza SE, Hazuda HP. Frailty in older Mexican-American and European-American adults: is there an ethnic disparity? J Am Geriatr Soc. 2008;56(9):1744–9. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-5415.2008.01845.x.CrossRefPubMed

31.

Aguilar-Navarro S, Gutiérrez-Robledo LM, García-Lara JMA, Payette H, Amieva H, Avila-Funes JA. The phenotype of frailty predicts disability and mortality among Mexican community-dwelling elderly. J Frailty Aging. 2012;1(3):111–7. https://doi.org/10.14283/jfa.2012.18.CrossRefPubMed

32.

de Albuquerque Sousa ACP, Dias RC, Maciel Álvaro CC, Guerra RO. Frailty syndrome and associated factors in community-dwelling elderly in Northeast Brazil. Arch Gerontol Geriatr. 2012;54(2):e95–e101. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.archger.2011.08.010.CrossRef

33.

Yassuda MS, Lopes A, Cachioni M, Falcao DVS, Batistoni SST, Guimaraes VV, Neri AL. Frailty criteria and cognitive performance are related: data from the Fibra study in Ermelino Matarazzo, Sao Paulo, Brazil. J Nutr Health Aging. 2012;16(1):55–61. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12603-012-0003-6.CrossRefPubMed

34.

Ávila-Funes JA, Pina-Escudero SD, Aguilar-Navarro S, Gutierrez-Robledo LM, Ruiz-Arregui L, Amieva H. Cognitive impairment and low physical activity are the components of frailty more strongly associated with disability. J Nutr Health Aging. 2011;15(8):683–9. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12603-011-0111-8.CrossRefPubMed

35.

Fernandez-Bolaños M, Otero Á, Zunzunegui MV, et al. Sex differences in the prevalence of frailty in a population aged 75 and older in Spain. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2008;56(12):2370–1. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-5415.2008.02032.x.CrossRefPubMed

36.

General Authority for Statistics Saudi Arabia. Demographic survey. Demogr Surv. 2016;2016:208 https://www.stats.gov.sa/sites/default/files/en-demographic-research-2016_4.pdf%5Cnhttps://www.stats.gov.sa/sites/default/files/en-demographic-research-2016_4.pdf%0Astats.gov.sa%0Ahttp://www.e-stat.go.jp/SG1/estat/List.do?lid=000001112823.

37.

Oo MT, Chan YP, Chamberlain H, Ho SF. Understanding clinical importance of frailty and designing a frailty assessment tool in acute hospitals. J Gerontol Geriatr Res. 2014;3(4):2. https://doi.org/10.4172/2167-7182.1000176.CrossRef

38.

Aragon Aragon MJ, Castelli A, Gaughan J. Hospital Trusts productivity in the English NHS: uncovering possible drivers of productivity variations. PLoS One. 2017;12(8):e0182253. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0182253.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

39.

Ekerstad N, Bylin K, Karlson BW. Early rehospitalizations of frail elderly patients – the role of medications: a clinical, prospective, observational trial. Drug Healthc Patient Saf. 2017;9:77–88. https://doi.org/10.2147/DHPS.S139237.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

40.

Woodard J, Gladman J, Conroy S. Frail older people at the interface. Age Ageing. 2010;39(S1):i36.

41.

Nguyen AT, Nguyen TX, Nguyen TN, Nguyen THT, Thang P, Cumming R, Hilmer SN, Vu HT. The impact of frailty on prolonged hospitalization and mortality in elderly inpatients in Vietnam: a comparison between the frailty phenotype and the reported Edmonton frail scale. Clin Interv Aging. 2019;14:381–8. https://doi.org/10.2147/CIA.S189122.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

42.

Chen CY, Wu SC, Chen LJ, Lue BH. The prevalence of subjective frailty and factors associated with frailty in Taiwan. Arch Gerontol Geriatr. 2010;50(Suppl 1):S43–7.CrossRef

43.

Matteini AM, Walston JD, Fallin MD, Bandeen-Roche K, Kao WHL, Semba RD, Allen RH, Guralnik J, Fried LP, Stabler SP. Markers of B-vitamin deficiency and frailty in older women. J Nutr Health Aging. 2008;12(5):303–8. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02982659.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

44.

Chang CI, Chan DC, Kuo KN, Agnes Hsiung C, Chen CY. Prevalence and correlates of geriatric frailty in a Northern Taiwan Community. J Formos Med Assoc. 2011;110(4):247–57. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0929-6646(11)60037-5.CrossRefPubMed

45.

Mhaolain AMN, Fan CW, Romero-Ortuno R, Cogan L, Cunningham C, Kenny RA, Lawlor B. Frailty, depression, and anxiety in later life. Int Psychogeriatr. 2012;24(8):1265–74 http://ovidsp.ovid.com/ovidweb.cgi?T=JS&PAGE=reference&D=emed14&NEWS=N&AN=365010879.CrossRef

Title: Prevalence of frailty and associated factors among Saudi community-dwelling older adults: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Bader A. Alqahtani
Aqeel M. Alenazi
Mohammed M. Alshehri
Ahmed M. Osailan
Saud F. Alsubaie
Mohammed A. Alqahtani
Publication date: 01-12-2021
Publisher: BioMed Central
Published in: BMC Geriatrics / Issue 1/2021
Electronic ISSN: 1471-2318
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-021-02142-9

ACC 2024 Congress Coverage

Heart Failure Video

At a glance: The ONWARDS insulin icodec trials

Springer Medicine

Prevalence of frailty and associated factors among Saudi community-dwelling older adults: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

ACC 2024 Congress Coverage

Year in Review: Heart failure and cardiomyopathies

Semaglutide benefits people with type 2 diabetes and obesity-related heart failure

Incentivised to exercise

New intervention for STEMI-related cardiogenic shock

» View more highlights on the ACC 2024 congress hub page

At a glance: The ONWARDS insulin icodec trials

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Please log in to get access to this content

Other articles of this Issue 1/2021

Is geriatric depression scale a valid instrument to screen depression in Chinese community-dwelling elderly?

Short daytime napping reduces the risk of cognitive decline in community-dwelling older adults: a 5-year longitudinal study

Physical activity level, fear of falling and quality of life: a comparison between community-dwelling and assisted-living older adults

Perceived discrimination and health outcomes among middle-aged and older adults in India: results of a national survey in 2017–2018

Digital health interventions for healthy ageing: a qualitative user evaluation and ethical assessment

Longitudinal association between physical activity and health-related quality of life among community-dwelling older adults: a longitudinal study of Urban Health Centres Europe (UHCE)

ACC 2024 Congress Coverage

Year in Review: Heart failure and cardiomyopathies

Semaglutide benefits people with type 2 diabetes and obesity-related heart failure

Incentivised to exercise

New intervention for STEMI-related cardiogenic shock

» View more highlights on the ACC 2024 congress hub page