Frailty is associated with socioeconomic and lifestyle factors in community-dwelling older subjects

Abstract

Background and aims: This study assessed the association between frailty and sociodemographic, socioeconomic and lifestyle factors in community-dwelling older people.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional survey in a population-based sample of 542 community-dwelling subjects aged 65 years and older living in a metropolitan area in Italy. Frailty was evaluated by means of the FRAIL scale proposed by the International Association of Nutrition and Aging. Basal and instrumental activities of daily living (ADL, IADL), physical activity, sociodemographic (age, gender, marital status and cohabitation), socioeconomic (education, economic conditions and occupational status) and lifestyle domains (cultural and technological fruition and social activation) were assessed through specific validated tools. Statistical analysis was performed through multinomial logistic regression.

Results: Impairments in ADL and IADL were significantly associated with frailty, while moderate and high physical activity were inversely associated with frailty. Moreover, regarding both socioeconomic variables and lifestyle factors, more disadvantaged socioeconomic conditions and low levels of cultural fruition were significantly associated with frailty.

Conclusions: Socioeconomic and lifestyle factors, particularly cultural fruition, are associated with frailty independently from functional impairment and low physical activity. Cultural habits may therefore represent a new target of multimodal interventions against geriatric frailty.

Keywords: Aging; Cultural fruition; Disability; Education; Frailty; Lifestyle; SES.