Paola V. Sosa-Sarmiento, Departamento de Medicina Familiar, Programa de Especialización en Geriatría, Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia
José M. Ocampo-Chaparro, Departamento de Medicina Familiar, Programa de Especialización en Geriatría, Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia
Carlos A. Reyes-Ortiz, Institute of Public Health, Florida A & M University, Tallahassee, Estados Unidos
Introduction: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the main cause of mortality in older adults (OA). Physical frailty is a growing problem. Objective: To evaluate the association between CVD and frailty in OA. Methods: cross-sectional analytical design based on secondary data from the SABE Colombia survey. It included a subsample: 5,242 participants aged 60 and older who had measurement of the components of the frailty phenotype, evaluated by the modified Fried criteria. CVD was the independent variable. Results: 20% had frailty and 59.4% had some CVD. In the multivariate logistic regression analysis, participants with CVD had a higher risk of being frail (OR 1.20 95% CI 1.09-1.34, p = 0.0005). Also associated with greater risk were having multimorbidity, advanced age, being female, low education, rural origin, and functional limitations. In the frailty phenotype, it was found that decreased walking speed and low physical activity were the components most affected in the participants, the latter being more important in women. Conclusions: CVD was found to be significantly associated with frailty in MOA who participated in the SABE Colombia survey. The high prevalence of the conditions emphasizes the relevance of addressing these issues in public health policies and interventions. Prevention and early management of CVD at earlier ages could prevent the development of frailty in MOA.
Keywords: Older adults. Cardiovascular disease. Aging. Frailty.
