Associations between frailty syndrome and sociodemographic characteristics in long-lived individuals of a community

OBJECTIVE: investigating the association between frailty syndrome and sociodemographic characteristics in long-lived individuals of a community. METHOD: a cross-sectional study with a proportional stratified sample consisting of 243 long-lived individuals. A structured instrument, scales and tests that comprise evaluating frailty were applied for data collection. Univariate and multivariate analyzes were performed by logistic regression (p<0.05) by Statistica 10((r)) software and Odds Ratio (95% Confidence Interval) were calculated for the predictive models. RESULTS: of the 243 long-lived individuals evaluated, 36 (14.8%) were frail, 55 (63.8%) were pre-frail and 52 (21.4%) were not frail. A predominance of females (n=161; 66.3%), widows/widowers (n=158; 65%), who lived with family members (n=144; 59.3%) and in a self-reported satisfactory financial situation (n=108; 44.5%) was observed. A significant association was found between the demographic variable of age (p=0.043) and frailty syndrome. The best predictor model for the syndrome included the variables: gender, age and household companion. CONCLUSION: the variable of age contributed most to the fragilization process of long-lived individuals residing in the community. It is essential that gerontological nursing care contemplates early detection of this syndrome, considering age as being indicative of care needs.