Department of Therapy and Rehabilitation, Vocational School of Health Services, Giresun University, Giresun, Turkey.
Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, Faculty of Health Sciences, Karadeniz Technical University, Trabzon, Turkey.
Aging Clin Exp Res. 2023 Aug;35(8):1779-1787. doi: 10.1007/s40520-023-02469-w. Epub 2023 Jun 19.
The impact of frailty, a physiological state characterized by reduced reserve for stressors and related to worse outcomes, on older adults during the pandemic is unclear. Our aim was to identify the effects of frailty among older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A total of 197 older adults who were not exposed to COVID-19 were assessed with an online survey one year after the pandemic began in Turkey. Frailty, quality of life, and fear of COVID-19 were assessed with the Tilburg Frailty Indicator, the Nottingham Health Profile, and the Fear of COVID-19 Scale, respectively. Since March 2020, changes in pain severity and localization, fatigue, and fear of falling were assessed. Multiple linear regression analyses were conducted.
In this study, 62.5% of the participants were frail. The prevalence of pain was significantly increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, but only among the frail. The increases in pain severity, fear of falling, and fatigue were significantly higher for the frail than the non-frail. The model including physical and psychological components of frailty and pain severity explained 49% of the variation in quality of life (R = 0.696; R = 0.485; p < 0.001). The physical component of frailty had the highest impact on quality of life (B = 20.591; β = 0.334).
This study focused on negative outcomes that were experienced more by frail older adults compared to non-frail older adults when they were locked down at home for an extended period of time during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is necessary to quickly improve and maintain the health of these affected individuals.
衰弱是一种生理状态，其特征是对压力源的储备减少，与较差的结果相关，但其对大流行期间老年人的影响尚不清楚。我们的目的是确定 COVID-19 大流行期间老年人衰弱的影响。
在土耳其大流行开始一年后，通过在线调查评估了 197 名未接触过 COVID-19 的老年人。使用蒂尔堡衰弱指标、诺丁汉健康概况和 COVID-19 恐惧量表分别评估衰弱、生活质量和对 COVID-19 的恐惧。自 2020 年 3 月以来，评估了疼痛严重程度和定位、疲劳和跌倒恐惧的变化。进行了多项线性回归分析。
在这项研究中，62.5%的参与者衰弱。COVID-19 大流行期间疼痛的患病率显著增加，但仅在衰弱者中增加。与非衰弱者相比，衰弱者的疼痛严重程度、跌倒恐惧和疲劳增加更为明显。包括身体和心理衰弱成分以及疼痛严重程度的模型解释了生活质量变化的 49%（R=0.696；R=0.485；p<0.001）。衰弱的身体成分对生活质量的影响最大（B=20.591；β=0.334）。
本研究关注的是与非衰弱老年人相比，在 COVID-19 大流行期间，长时间居家隔离期间衰弱的老年人经历的负面后果。有必要迅速改善和维持这些受影响个体的健康。
