Gender differences in risk factors for frailty in the older adults and their relationship with functional disability: a trajectory analysis

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) The mechanism, the risk factors and the influence of sex on the incidence of frailty components are not completely known. In addition, the relationship between frailty and disability has been explored in a two-way street with studies showing that the frailty process increases the risk of disability and that disability increases the risk of frailty. However, there is a gap in the literature, as far as is known, no stratified analyzes by sex of the risk factors for the incidence trajectory of the number of frailty components as well as for the behavior of the functional disability trajectories in function changes in frailty status and their components over time. Therefore, in order to establish efficient rehabilitation programs for frail or in process of becoming frail older people, these knowledge gaps need to be filled. This thesis has two objectives: 1) To analyze sex differences in risk factors for the increase in the number of frailty components in 1,747 participants in the ELSA Study followed for twelve years; and 2) Analyze sex differences in the trajectories of the incidence of disability due to changes in frailty status and their components in 1,522 and 1,548 participants in the ELSA Study independent in ABVD and IADL and frailty at baseline also in a twelve-year follow-up. The main results found were that the increase in the number of frailty components, in both sexes, was associated with increasing age, low education, perception of poor vision, presence of depressive symptoms, joint disease, uncontrolled diabetes, C-reactive protein high and sedentary lifestyle (p