Frailty and Social Vulnerability in Mexican Deprived and Rural Settings.

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of frailty in a sample of rural elderly living in socially vulnerable circumstances as well as to determine its correlates.

Method: Cross-sectional study of 558 rural elderly participating in a prospective study conducted in Mexico. Frailty was defined using the Fried criteria. Ordinal logistic regression model was used to identify the correlates of frailty levels.

Results: Prevalence of frailty was 8.6%. Disability in basic activities of daily living and illiteracy increase the probability of being pre-frail and/or frail (odds ratio [OR] = 2.72, p < .01; OR = 1.45, p = .05, respectively), while living in households with higher socioeconomic status reduces this probability (OR = 0.85, p < .01).

Discussion: A high prevalence of frailty was found among these young elderly, who did not yet fully show adverse health events. Also the social vulnerability of rural elderly is associated with frailty status. These findings highlight the health needs of socially and economically vulnerable elderly population.