Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Frailty in Older Adults

Objective: This study examines the effects of the Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on frailty in a group of older adults at the end of the first year of the pandemic. Materials and Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted at the end of the first year of the pandemic. Our study included 394 older adults who were contacted at primary care health centers. The FRAIL scale, the coronavirus fear scale and the scale of adjustment to measures in respiratory Results: The average age of the 394 individuals who participated was 70.38 +/- 5.68 years. Overall, 33% of the individuals have been infected with COVID-19. It was found that the prefrail and frail older populations increased by 2.7% and 13.8%, respectively, in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic was found to have a moderate effect on the frailty scores. The risk of frailty was found to be 2 [odds ratio (OR)=2.04, confidence interval (CI) (95%)=1.28-3.23] times higher in individuals that tested positive for COVID-19. The fear of coronavirus increased the risk of frailty by 1.08 times [OR=1.08, CI (95%)=1.03-1.13]. The risk of frailty was reduced by 1.03 [OR=0.96, CI (95%)=0.94-0.99] times in the older adults who complied with the precautions. Conclusion: COVID-19 and the fear of COVID-19 it causes increase the risk of frailty among the older adults. Compliance with the recommended measures reduces the risk of frailty.