The World Health Organization has defined elderly individuals living independently as an 'at risk' group. This vulnerable population thus faces a disproportionate amount of frailty, disabilities and/or death. In this study, the total number of participants was 276, with 13 incomplete responses, resulting in 263 valid questionnaires. Frailty status of the subjects (n = 263) was evaluated according to the frailty criteria of osteoporotic fractures study. Overall, 35% of the study participants were frail, 19.8% were pre-frail and 45.2% were non-frail. Additionally, compared with non-frail, solitary elderly individuals with basic activities of daily living limitation or heart failure more easily became pre-frail. The research demonstrates a high prevalence of frailty in urban Taiwanese solitary elderly individuals. Pre-frailty and frailty significantly impacts health, owing to their strong association with cardiovascular disease, disability and fracture. Results of this study could provide a valuable reference material for health-care providers and potentially facilitate an important foundation for the planning of nursing interventions care.
Keywords: frailty; prevalence; risk factors; solitary elderly individuals.
© 2014 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.