Risk Factors for Mortality in Older Adult Women with Frailty Syndrome

Introduction: Frailty is a geriatric syndrome of great prevalence and impact in the older adult population, associated with various negative health outcomes, particularly in the female sex. Among the various factors associated with mortality in frail women, sociodemographic factors, as well the presence of comorbidities and geriatric syndromes have been described. Objective: To determine the risk factors associated with mortality in older women with frailty syndrome. Methods: An observational and analytical study of retrospective-cohort type was carried out, between the years 2010 and 2015, through the secondary analysis in a database of a research conducted with older adults from Cirujano Mayor Santiago Távara Naval Medical Center, with survival follow-up until June 2016. The sample for the present analysis was made up of 341 frail elderly women, according to Fried's phenotype. Results: Marital status, being divorced or separated, multimorbidity, number of drugs, risk of falls and the score based on Gijon’s scale were significantly associated with an increased mortality risk in frail women; while education, age, as well as the scores based on Barthel index and the Mini-mental State Examination were not associated factors. Conclusions: Frail women who are divorced or separated, with poor social support, higher drug use, multimorbidity and at risk for falls are at higher risk for mortality.