Title:Prediction of Risk of Frailty Among Institutionalized Older Adults in
India
Volume: 16
Issue: 1
Author(s): Nisha Kulal, Girish Nandakumar* Vaishali K
Affiliation:
- Department of Physiotherapy, Manipal College of Health Professions, Manipal Academy of Higher Education,
Manipal, India
Keywords:
Case-control studies, frail elderly, frailty, odds ratio, physical functional performance, fried’s criteria.
Abstract:
Background: Frailty is a state of age-related physiological vulnerability resulting from
impaired homeostatic reserve and a reduced capacity of the individual to withstand stress and an
independent predictor of deleterious health outcomes among the aged. Early identification of people
who are at risk for frailty is vital in preventing and minimizing its socio-economic consequences in
low-resource countries like India. However, risk factors for frailty among Indian institutionalized
older adults have been seldom explored.
Objective: The objective of this study is to develop a prediction model for the risk of frailty among
institutionalized older adults.
Methods: This study adopted a case-control design, wherein institutionalized adults were categorized
into frail and non-frail, using Fried’s criteria. Individuals above 55 years of age who could follow
instructions without severe motor and cognitive impairment and terminal illness were recruited
from nine conveniently selected institutions. Socio-demographic, lifestyle, behavioral, and physical
performance factors were evaluated by including hundred participants.
Results: Among the fourteen independent variables, age, cognition, income, functional mobility,
polypharmacy and presence of more than 3 comorbidities were significant in univariate analysis.
But adjusted odds ratio showed a statistical significance for low educational status, low income,
poor functional mobility, and presence of more than 3 co-morbidities only, hence they were used for
developing the prediction model.
Conclusion: Low education status, low income, poor functional mobility, and presence of more than
3 comorbidities were found to have a significant association with the risk of frailty. A model has
been developed to predict the risk and early identification of frailty among institutionalized older
adults.
