Prefrailty: The Relationship Between Daily Activities and Social Participation in Older Persons

• Published in: Journal of applied gerontology Vol. 41; no. 2; pp. 430 - 440
• Main Authors: Costenoble, Axelle, Knoop, Veerle, Debain, Aziz, Vermeiren, Sofie, Vella Azzopardi, Roberta, Rossi, Gina, Smeys, Celeste, Baltazar, Kéren Duarte, Bautmans, Ivan, Verté, Dominique, Gorus, Ellen, De Vriendt, Patricia
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.02.2022; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Activities of Daily Living; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Frail Elderly; Frailty; Geriatric Assessment; Humans; Independent Living; Male; Older people; Social Participation; functional decline; frailty; social engagement; disability; oldest old
• ISSN: 0733-4648; 1552-4523
• DOI: 10.1177/0733464821991007

Objectives: To analyze prefrailty’s relationship with limitations in activities of daily living (ADLs) and restrictions in social participation. Method: Robust (Fried 0/4; n = 214; Mage = 82.3 years [SD ±2.1]) and prefrail (Fried 1–2/4; n = 191; Mage = 83.8 years [SD ±3.2]) community-dwelling older individuals were included. Frailty scores were obtained from weight loss, exhaustion, gait speed, and grip strength. A total disability index (DI) expressed dependency for basic (b-), instrumental (i-), and advanced (a-)ADLs. Total participation score, being a member, total number of memberships, being a board member, level of participation, membership over time, volunteering, and formal participation represented social participation. Results: Logistic regression retained age (OR = 1.224; 95% CI = [1.122, 1.335]), sex (OR = 3.818; 95% CI = [2.437, 5.982]), and a-ADL-DI (OR = 1.230; 95% CI = [1.018, 1.486]) as variables significantly related to prefrailty (68.3%; χ2 = 68.25; df = 3; p < .001). Discussion: Subtle limitations in a-ADLs, higher age, and being a man were associated with prefrailty, revealing the possible role of personal and culturally related a-ADLs as red flags for (pre)frailty.