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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Aging and Public Health
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1525580
This article is part of the Research Topic Diagnosing and Treating Frailty and Sarcopenia in Middle-aged and Older Adults View all 5 articles
Risk prediction model of physical frailty for a rural older population: a cross-sectional study in Hunan Province, China
Provisionally accepted
XIUYAN GUO 1
Chunhong Shi 2*- 1 Jiujiang University, Jiujiang, China
- 2 Xiangnan University, Chenzhou, Hunan Province, China
Introduction: Physical frailty is a common medical syndrome characterized by low muscle strength, low endurance, and reduced physiological function that leads to significantly negative health outcomes in older adults. This study investigated the risk variables among rural older adults in Hunan Province, China, and developed a physical frailty prediction model to inform policymaking to enhance their health and well-being.Methods: This study was conducted from July 22 to September 3, 2022. A total of 291 participants were recruited using stratified cluster random sampling from five large villages in Hunan Province. Frailty screening was performed based on the Fatigue, Resistance, Ambulation, Illnesses, & Loss of Weight (FRAIL) scale, Geriatric Depression Scale 15-item version (GDS-15), Falls Efficacy Scale-International (FES-I), and Mini Nutrition Assessment-Short Form (MNA-SF). A logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the predictive factors for physical frailty and develop a physical frailty prediction model based on the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC), sensitivity, specificity, and Youden index.The physical frailty prevalence among rural older adults in Hunan Province was 21.31% (n = 62). Household income and expenditure (odds ratio [OR]: 1.826, 95% confidence interval [CI]:
Keywords: Physical frailty, rural, older adults, FRAIL scale, predictive model
Received: 10 Nov 2024; Accepted: 17 Feb 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 GUO and Shi. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Chunhong Shi, Xiangnan University, Chenzhou, 423000, Hunan Province, China
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