Publication Type
Journal Article
Version
publishedVersion
Publication Date
2-2022
Abstract
Objective To examine how multiple dimensions of mental and social health, in addition to physical health, were associated with frailty among older adults. Design A door-to-door sampling household community-based survey. Setting Thirty-two public housing blocks within a residential town in Singapore's central region. Participants 497 residents aged 60 years or older from the public housing town. Outcome measures Physical frailty was assessed using the FRAIL Scale, which stands for fatigue, resistance, ambulation, illnesses and loss of weight. Physical health was assessed by multimorbidity, physical activity and functional ability; mental illness was assessed by the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ); and social domains were assessed by the Lubben Social Network Scale, Community Integration Measure and UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) Loneliness Scale. Results Compared with robust (59.5%) and prefrail (32.6%) older adults, frail adults (7.9%) reported higher morbidity, lower functional ability and physical activity, higher scores on GHQ, and lower scores on all three social health scales. In multiple regression models, frailty was significantly associated with age 81-90 years (adjusted OR=2.22, 95% CI 1.23 to 3.99), having 2-3 (adjusted OR=1.56, 95% CI 1.02 to 2.38) or >3 (adjusted OR=1.83, 95% CI 1.05 to 3.18) chronic diseases, reduced ability to perform daily tasks without assistance (adjusted OR=0.41, 95% CI 0.23 to 0.73), having fallen in the past 6 months (adjusted OR=2.18, 95% CI 1.18 to 4.06), social dysfunction in GHQ (adjusted OR=1.24, 95% CI 1.08 to 1.43) and loneliness (adjusted OR=1.26, 95% CI 1.06 to 1.50). Physical activity did not remain significantly associated with frailty when mental and social health-related factors were entered in the regression. Conclusion Community intervention for frailty prevention and management needs to include mental health promotion and social engagement to increase its impact on older adults.
Keywords
epidemiology, geriatric medicine, public health
Discipline
Psychology
Research Areas
Psychology
Publication
BMJ Open
Volume
12
Issue
2
ISSN
2044-6055
Identifier
10.1136/bmjopen-2020-047586
Publisher
BMJ Publishing Group
Citation
CHONG, Elliot Yeung, LIM, Angela Hui-Shan, MAH, Freda Cheng Yee, YEO, Lyn Hui Wen, NG, Shu Tian, & YI, Huso.(2022). Assessing the psychosocial dimensions of frailty among older adults in Singapore: A community-based cross-sectional study. BMJ Open, 12(2).
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/3635
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-047586