Research Article Frailty Index and Quality of Life in Nursing Home Residents: Results From INCUR Study

Background. Frailty is a common clinical syndrome in older adults that carries an increased risk for poor health outcomes. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between frailty and health-related Quality of Life (QoL) in older nursing home patients. Methods. The study sample consisted of 590 patients aged 65 years or older. QoL was measured with the Visual Analogue Scale. Frailty was assessed using the Frailty Index as proposed by Rockwood and colleagues. Results. Mean age of the participants was 85.9 (standard deviation [SD] 7.6) years, with 73.6% being female. The mean Frailty Index was 0.40 (SD 0.07) and the mean value of QoL was 67.4 out of 100 (SD 25.9). Before and after adjusting for age, and stratification for sociodemographic, and health-related variables, no significant associations between frailty and QoL were reported. Conclusion. In our study, the Frailty Index was not associated with QoL in nursing home residents. Key Words: Older adults—Nursing home—Frailty—Quality of Life—Health care. Age-related frailty is an increasing challenge for societies worldwide, with growing emphasis on identifying its underlying pathophysiol