Frailty, Nutrition, and Quality of Life in Urban-Dwelling Older Adults Facing Vulnerability: Observational Study in Primary Heath Care

Objective: To analyze the association between vulnerability, nutritional aspects, frailty, and quality of life (QoL) in older adults receiving care from Primary Health Care (PHC) services in an urban area. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted with community-dwelling older adults. The following instruments were used to assess the variables of interest: the Vulnerable Elders Survey (VES-13), Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA), Edmonton Frailty Scale (EFS), and the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36 (SF-36). Statistical procedures included association analyses, Spearman’s correlation, and binary logistic regression to identify predictors of the outcome. Results: A total of 323 individuals participated in the study, of whom 148 (45.8%) were classified as vulnerable according to the VES-13. Vulnerability showed a moderate negative correlation with nutritional status (r = -0.38; p 0.49; p