The scope of this study was to identify the profile of fragility and associated factors among the elderly registered in a Family Health Unit. It involved an observational, exploratory, household -based and cross-sectional study conducted with 139 elderly individuals. The data were collected using a structured questionnaire requesting the following information: personal history, family and self-reported diseases, socio-demographic information, level of physical activity, behavior variables, number of falls in the last year, depressive symptoms, unintentional weight loss and fatigue. Anthropometric measurements (weight and height) were also taken and the body mass index (BMI) was calculated. Descriptive analyses and Pearson’s chi-square test or Fisher’s exact test were performed, with a significance level of p < 0.05. SPSS software version 21.0 was used for statistical analysis. The prevalence of fragility among the elderly was: frail (16.9%), pre-frail (61.8%) and non-frail (21.3%), respectively. The fragility profile was associated with: age (p < 0.001), BMI (p = 0.018), family situation (p = 0.014), level of physical activity (p < 0.001) and falls (p = 0.043). In this study, a high prevalence was observed of pre-frail and frail elderly individuals and identified factors associated with this syndrome.
Elderly; Fragility; Health conditions
