Frailty and mortality in long-term care facilities for older people in Brazil: a survival analysis

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the effect of frailty on 1-year mortality in long term-care facility (LTCF) residents. METHODS: This was a prospective cohort study with survival analysis of 209 participants living in 15 Brazilian LTCFs. Data on chronic diseases, age, sex, medication use, dependence in activities of daily living (ADLs; Katz index), and frailty (FRAIL scale) were collected at baseline, and death after 1 year was the outcome measure. Kaplan-Meier estimate and log-rank test were used to analyze the survival of residents. RESULTS: In the initial assessment, 65.07 of the residents were women, and the median age was 82 (interquartile range, 71–88) years, with 55% being over 80 years old. Overall, 88% had 2 or more diseases, 59.81% were using 5 or more medications, 42.11% were considered frail, 34.92% pre-frail, and 22.97% robust, and 69.94% were dependent in 3 or more ADLs. During the 12-month follow-up, 19.61% of the residents (n=41) died. In the survival analysis for death, there was a statistically significant association with frailty (p=0.03) and dependence in ADLs (p=0.04). CONCLUSIONS: In this population of LTCF residents, frailty and functional dependence were associated with death.