ASSOCIATION BETWEEN FRAILTY, FALLS, AND COMORBIDITIES IN ELDERLY OUTPATIENTS

Abstract

This article analyzes the association between frailty, falls, gender, and comorbidities in elderly patients. The cross-sectional and quantitative research was carried out at the UNICEPLAC outpatient clinic, Brasília, with 61 elderly patients aged between 60 and 85 years, of which 41 were female and 20 were male. The Functional Clinical Vulnerability Index-20 (IVCF-20) was used to assess frailty. The results showed that 30.4% of the frail elderly reported two or more falls in the last year, in contrast to 3.7% of the robust ones, evidencing a risk ratio of 17.76 for falls in frail older adults. The findings suggest that frailty is a significant predictor of falls in older patients, highlighting the need for targeted interventions to mitigate this risk.