Frailty is associated with sociodemographic and health factors and related to the care context of older caregivers: a Brazilian cross-sectional study

Autor(es)

Macedo, Marcela Naiara Graciani Fumagale ; Alves, Elen dos Santos ; de Jesus, Isabela Thais Machado ; Inouye, Keika ; de Brito, Tabatta Renata Pereira ; dos Santos-Orlandi, Ariene Angelini

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: São Paulo Medical Journal; v. 141, n. 3, p. 8-pg., 2023-05-01.

Resumo

BACKGROUND: The task of caring can arise suddenly without guidance or support, resulting in psycho-logical tension and health impairment, which can culminate in the development of frailty.OBJECTIVE: To analyze the relationship between frailty and sociodemographic and health aspects related to the care context of older caregivers.DESIGN AND SETTING: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 65 older caregivers registered in family health units in the interior of the state of Sao Paulo. METHODS: The participants were interviewed individually using the following instruments: a character-ization questionnaire, Fried's frailty phenotype, Zarit Burden's Interview, Mini-Mental State Examination, Geriatric Depression Scale, Katz Index, and Lawton Scale. In addition, the following statistical tests were applied: Pearson's chi-squared test, Fisher's exact test, and Mann-Whitney test. A significance level of 5% was considered to be statistically significant.RESULTS: Women who took care of their spouses predominated without prior training or the help of other people. Most of the patients were pre-frail (72.3%). Frailty was significantly related to marital sta-tus (P = 0.016), depressive symptoms (P = 0.029), cognitive decline (P = 0.029), the degree of kinship (P = 0.015), and burden (P = 0.004).CONCLUSION: Older caregivers without a partner, with severe depressive symptoms and cognitive chang-es, who cared for their parents, and had higher levels of burden, presented a higher proportion of frailty. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 20/07919-3 - Idosos que cuidam de outros idosos: um estudo sobre sobrecarga e fragilidade
• Beneficiário: Marcela Naiara Graciani Fumagale Macedo
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Iniciação Científica