Abstract

Background: This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of frailty and its associated factors among older patients (≥ 65 years) admitted to the hospital through the emergency room.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional analytical study. The sample comprised 367 patients (≥ 65 years) admitted to various wards in King Saud University Medical City (KSUMC) between November 2020 and February 2021. The study adopted the FRAIL scale consisting of five domains (fatigue, resistance, ambulation, illness, and loss of weight).

Results: The study showed that the prevalence rates of pre-frailty and frailty were 41.1%, and 51.8% respectively. In addition, there were significant differences between robust health, pre-frail, and frail older patients regarding age (p = 0.027), weight (p = 0.030), gender (p = 0.002), monthly income (p = 0.000), educational qualification (p = 0.001), history of medication (p = 0.024), and polypharmacy (p = 0.001). The results of the multivariate logistic regression revealed that older patients' age was a significant predictor of frailty among hospitalized old patients in KSUMC (p = 0.001).

Conclusion: The study concluded that there was a high prevalence rate of frailty among older patients (≥ 65 years) hospitalized in KSUMC. In addition, age was significantly associated with frailty among older patients. Further studies are needed to explore the impact on mortality and morbidity for frail patients admitted in various medical wards.