HEALTH-FUNCTION INDICATORS FOR THE PREDICTION OF ELDERLY FRAILTY

Objectives: It is crucially worth noticing of how to assess elderly frailty in recent years. This study explores 16 common indicators of health function to investigate the relationship between these indicators and frailty. It ranks the indicators as reference for frailty assessments. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Regional frailty study. Participants : The sample comprised 597 elderly people who residence in the community. Measurements: This study commenced in 2012. By June 2014, 597 people aged over 65 years participated in this study. With the permission of the subjects, the trained interviewer conducted a face-to-face survey and measured the subjects’ walking speed and the strength of their grip. The statistical methods were t-test, Chi-square, logistic regression analysis and the decision tree. Results: In this study, there is 31.7% of elderly demonstrating the symptoms of frailty. Of the health-function indicators, the relationship between decreased appetite and frailty is the strongest, followed by IADL disability, declining cognitive function, malnutrition and pain. Poor eyesight and falling do not show a significant relationship to frailty. Conclusion: Among 16 health-function indicators, the association between nutritional problems and frailty in elderly people is the most significant. Future assessments of frailty should consider the importance of health-function indicators in order to enhance the scope. Screening at-risk elderly people for potential frailty will enable proper health-care planning to achieve the goal of healthy ageing.