Assessing the Impact of Frailty on Cognitive Function in Older Adults Receiving Home Care

• Published in: Translational medicine @ UniSa 2019-01, Vol.19, p.27-35
• Main Authors: Kleisiaris, C, Kaffatou, E M, Papathanasiou, I V, Androulakis, E, Panagiotakis, S, Alvino, S, Tziraki, C
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 2239-9747; 2239-9747

It is commonly accepted that frailty and dementia-related cognitive decline are strongly associated. However, degree of this association is often debated, especially in homebound elders with disabilities. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the association of frailty on cognitive function in older adults receiving homecare. A screening for frailty and cognitive function was conducted at 12 primary healthcare settings of the nationally funded program "Help at Home" in Heraklion Crete, Greece. Cognitive function and frailty were assessed using the questionnaire and the , respectively. -Activities of Daily Living and the were also used for the identification of disability and comorbidity, respectively. The mean age of the 192 participants (66% female) was 78.04 ± 8.01 years old. In depth-analysis using multiple linear regression, revealed that frailty was not significantly associated with cognitive decline (frail vs. non-frail (B'=-2.39, p=0.246) even after adjusting for depression and multi-comorbidity. Importantly, as protective factors for cognitive decline progression and thus dementia development, was scientifically correlated with annual individual income >4500 (B'=2.31, p=0.005) -poverty threshold-compared to those with