BACKGROUND
Frailty has become a worldwide public health concern, and the elderly are at high risk of frailty. However, research regarding frailty to date tend to focus on the elderly in cities, communities, or nursing homes rather than in rural areas.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the status quo and influencing factors of overall frailty and its dimensions among the elderly in rural areas, so as to provide reference for the development of target interventions. Moreover, the number of rural elderly in China is huge and they differ more from those living in urban areas.
METHODS
A convenience sample of 195 elderly from six natural villages in Bashang Area of Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province, China, were recruited from August to September, 2022. The demographic information, the Chinese version of Tilburg Frailty Assessment Scale, Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale were used to investigate frailty and its influencing factors of the elderly. Univariate analysis and multiple linear regression analysis were employed.
RESULTS
The incidence of overall frailty among elderly in Bashang Area was 85.13%. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that anxiety, age, gender, marital status, regular exercise and CCI score were the influencing factors of overall frailty. Anxiety was significantly associated with physical frailty, psychological frailty, and social frailty. Age, gender, marital status, financial burden, CCI score, and regular exercise were associated with one or two dimensions of frailty among the elderly in rural areas.
CONCLUSIONS
The incidence of frailty among the elderly in rural areas, Zhangjiakou City is high. The frailty is influenced by many factors. Medical staff should pay more attention to the frailty of the elderly in rural areas and take multidisciplinary interventions.
CLINICALTRIAL
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