Prevalence of Frailty and Its Association with Loneliness Among Older Adults in Türkiye

Purpose: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of frailty, examine the relationship between frailty and loneliness levels, and evaluate the factors associated with frailty. Design: This study was designed as a cross-sectional descriptive study. Methods: The study was conducted with 216 older adults who applied to a family health center. A personal information form, the Edmonton Frail Scale, and the Loneliness Scale for older adults were used to collect the research data. Findings: The mean age of the older adults was 70.65 ± 5.37 years. The prevalence of frailty among the older adults was 28.2%. A moderate positive correlation was observed between the total frailty score and the total loneliness score (r = 0.560, p < 0.01). Frailty was also positively correlated with emotional loneliness (r = 0.352, p < 0.01) and social loneliness (r = 0.358, p < 0.01), subdimensions of the loneliness scale. In the fully adjusted model, frailty was significantly associated with the presence of chronic disease (OR = 2.78, p < 0.05), higher loneliness scores (OR = 2.49, p < 0.05), living alone (OR = 2.12, p < 0.05), and poor perceived health (OR = 2.14, p < 0.05). Conclusions and Clinical Relevance: The findings indicate that, in addition to individual characteristics, loneliness is significantly associated with frailty among older adults. These findings underscore the importance of routine assessment and monitoring of frailty and loneliness by community health nurses in primary healthcare settings. Early identification of older adults at risk may support the planning of nurse-led, community-based interventions aimed at preventing or delaying frailty. By considering key factors such as gender, chronic illness, and emotional loneliness, multidisciplinary approaches may contribute to reducing frailty levels among community-dwelling older adults.