Background: Frailty is a clinical condition where there is a rise in the person’s susceptibility to develop heightened dependency and/or death when subjected to any stressful event.
Aims and Objectives: The objectives of this study were to estimate the proportion of frailty and to examine the relationship between sociodemographic characteristics and frailty among the elderly who live at the rural field practice area of medical college, Kolkata.
Materials and Methods: An observational descriptive study was conducted among 151 elderly people dwelling at the proposed study area. Questions from Tilburg frailty indicator were used to estimate frailty. A score of 6 or more indicated frailty.
Results: Proportion of frailty among study subjects was 59.60%. Significant statistical relationship was found between frailty and gender, caste, type of family, socioeconomic status, education, whether receiving any pension or benefit, whether taking medications for one or more chronic diseases, whether economically completely independent, whether suffered death of a family member, relative or friend within a year.
Conclusion: Frailty should be given more emphasis during policy making regarding the health and wellness of the elderly population. The elderly were advised to attend Geriatric Wellness Clinic of Medical College, Kolkata, for comprehensive preventive management and to maintain their functional capacity.
Key words: railty; Geriatric; Elderly; Rural
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