Prevalence of Frailty among elderly patients attending primary health care centers in sixth of October City

Abstract

Frailty is an increased vulnerability to advanced and persistent loss of function that, at least initially, only becomes evident under stress. Frailty has been described as loss of ability to adapt to stress because of diminished functional reserves. Frailty has been operationally defined by Fried et al (2001). A condition meeting 3 of the 5 phenotypic criteria indicating compromised energetics, namely, low grip strength, low energy, slowed waking speed, low physical activity, and unintentional weight loss. A pre-frail stage, in which 1 or 2 criteria are present, identifies a subset at high risk of progressing to frailty. Identification of frailty in early stage is important because interventions may potentially prevent or delay their clinical consequences as it is considered as an early stage of disability which, differently from disability, are still amenable for preventive interventions and are reversible. There is a wide spectrum of frailty, but typically, frail people have low physical activity, few social interactions as well as several chronic diseases that require medical attention. They are vulnerable to falling and may not fully recover from mild stressors or illness. Frailty can be a dynamic state, as some people with high levels of dependency or disability can recover independence, although they remain at higher risk of future mobility limitations than those who were never frail