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 < 0.001). Frailty (EFS) and quality of life (SF-36) showed strong correlations, especially in domains related to physical and functional aspects (r > 0.49; p < 0.050). Binary logistic regression revealed frailty (EFS) as the main predictor of vulnerability (R² = 0.20; p < 0.001; OR = 1.35 [95% CI: 1.24–1.48]), with functional independence (R² = 0.25; p < 0.001; OR = 3.96 [95% CI: 2.74–5.73]) and functional performance (R² = 0.17; p < 0.001; OR = 3.21 [95% CI: 2.21–4.67]) being the domains that most strongly increased the odds of vulnerability.
Conclusion: There was a significant association between vulnerability, nutritional status, frailty, and quality of life. More refined analyses highlighted frailty, particularly in its functional domains, as a key predictor of vulnerability among older adults.