Posters
Academic Level (Author 1)
Resident
Discipline/Specialty (Author 1)
Family and Community Medicine
Academic Level (Author 2)
Faculty
Discipline/Specialty (Author 2)
Human Genetics
Academic Level (Author 3)
Resident
Discipline/Specialty (Author 3)
Family and Community Medicine
Academic Level (Author 4)
Faculty
Discipline/Specialty (Author 4)
Family and Community Medicine
Academic Level (Author 5)
Faculty
Discipline/Specialty (Author 5)
Human Genetics
Discipline Track
Clinical Science
Abstract
Background: Frailty is an age-related phenotype characterized by physiological decline and increased vulnerability to stressors, leading to the risk of adverse events including falls, hospitalizations, re-admissions, and mortality. The prevalence of frailty depends on the setting (nursing home > hospital > ambulatory) and is higher in those with socioeconomic instability, lower education levels, unsafe environments, and poor healthcare access. Our two goals included identifying the prevalence of frailty in patients cared for at the UT Health Knapp Family Health Center (ambulatory) and assessing the relationship between frailty and the social determinants of health (SDoH).
Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study from September 2022 to December 2022. A multivariate logistic regression model was used to analyze the FRAIL scale, and a dichotomous frailty (d_frailty) variable was constructed. The dependent variable was the d_frailty, and the independent predictors were gender, age, marital status, ethnicity, and the SDH variable. Older adults ≥ 65 years completed the FRAIL scale and an SDoH screening.
Results: We collected data on 108 patients (mean age 74.23, Hispanic 46.30%, non-Hispanic 53.70%, females 39.81%, 60.19% males, married 54.63%, single 15.74%, widowed 20.37%, and divorced 9.52%). We measured frailty (37.05%), pre-frailty (35.19%), and robust (27.78%). Age and SDoH were independently and positively associated with frailty (p=0.001 and p=0.007, respectively). Their odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals were 1.14 [1.06, 1.23] and 1.53 [1.15, 2.16]. No other significant associations were found; however, gender and ethnicity trended in the direction of being associated with a decreased risk of frailty for males relative to females (0.48 [0.18, 1.23], and Hispanics relative to non-Hispanics, 0.66 [0.25, 1.77]. In contrast, marital status trended toward increased risk of frailty, 1.36 [0.88, 2.11].
Conclusions: We found that age and SDoH are associated with an increased risk of frailty. Further studies with a larger sample size are needed to confirm other associations.
Presentation Type
Poster
Recommended Citation
Nasr, Lubna A.; Diego, Vincent P.; Gomez De Ziegler, Carolina; Munoz-Monaco, Gerardo; and Manusov, Eron, "The influence of age and the social determinants of health on frailty among older adults" (2024). Research Colloquium. 27.
https://scholarworks.utrgv.edu/colloquium/2023/posters/27
Included in
The influence of age and the social determinants of health on frailty among older adults
Background: Frailty is an age-related phenotype characterized by physiological decline and increased vulnerability to stressors, leading to the risk of adverse events including falls, hospitalizations, re-admissions, and mortality. The prevalence of frailty depends on the setting (nursing home > hospital > ambulatory) and is higher in those with socioeconomic instability, lower education levels, unsafe environments, and poor healthcare access. Our two goals included identifying the prevalence of frailty in patients cared for at the UT Health Knapp Family Health Center (ambulatory) and assessing the relationship between frailty and the social determinants of health (SDoH).
Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study from September 2022 to December 2022. A multivariate logistic regression model was used to analyze the FRAIL scale, and a dichotomous frailty (d_frailty) variable was constructed. The dependent variable was the d_frailty, and the independent predictors were gender, age, marital status, ethnicity, and the SDH variable. Older adults ≥ 65 years completed the FRAIL scale and an SDoH screening.
Results: We collected data on 108 patients (mean age 74.23, Hispanic 46.30%, non-Hispanic 53.70%, females 39.81%, 60.19% males, married 54.63%, single 15.74%, widowed 20.37%, and divorced 9.52%). We measured frailty (37.05%), pre-frailty (35.19%), and robust (27.78%). Age and SDoH were independently and positively associated with frailty (p=0.001 and p=0.007, respectively). Their odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals were 1.14 [1.06, 1.23] and 1.53 [1.15, 2.16]. No other significant associations were found; however, gender and ethnicity trended in the direction of being associated with a decreased risk of frailty for males relative to females (0.48 [0.18, 1.23], and Hispanics relative to non-Hispanics, 0.66 [0.25, 1.77]. In contrast, marital status trended toward increased risk of frailty, 1.36 [0.88, 2.11].
Conclusions: We found that age and SDoH are associated with an increased risk of frailty. Further studies with a larger sample size are needed to confirm other associations.