Abstract

DUARTE, Mafalda  and  PAUL, Constança. Mental health indicators as predictor frailty in old age. Revista Portuguesa de Enfermagem de Saúde Mental [online]. 2014, n.spe1, pp.27-32. ISSN 1647-2160.

On the basis of studying the condition of frailty we highlight the model of Fried and collaborators (2001) that underlies the Phenotype of Frailty as a syndrome consisting of five criteria: weight loss, endurance, physical activity, slowness and weakness. When three of these criteria are mentioned the elder is considered frail, between one and two is considered pre - frail and with no criterion is considered robust (not frail). The literature review identified a range of factors that enhance this condition.  So emerges the relevance of this study that aims to identify the predictive value of mental health indicators in the frailty phenotype. To this we constituted a representative sample of elders residing in the community, in the municipality of Guimarães (n=338). An extensive protocol of frailty was developed, which incorporated the criteria for frailty and mental health indicators. There was a severe prevalence of phenotipical frailty (34.9%) and from the analysis of regression models we have seen that cognitive impairment (OR = 2.9, 95 % CI 1.6 to 5.3) and the presence of depressive symptoms (OR = 4.2 , 95 % CI 1.9 to 9.2 ) predict this condition. Thus, the mental condition of the elder should be taken into consideration in order to minimize and delay frailty in old age.

Keywords : Aging; Aged; Mental health.

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