The relationships between frailty and depression, loneliness, and self-neglect in older adults: A cross-sectional...

The growing older adult population in Türkiye and the rest of the world highlights the health impacts of psychosocial issues. Frailty-associated with falls, disability, and care needs-often coexists with depression and loneliness. This study investigates how frailty relates to depression, loneliness, and self-neglect in older adults.

This cross-sectional study was conducted at a university hospital in Istanbul. The study was conducted with 259 older adults (≥65 years) between September 2023 and February 2024. A sociodemographic information form, the Tilburg Frailty Indicator, the Geriatric Depression Scale-15, the Loneliness Scale for the Elderly, the Istanbul Medical School Elder Self-Neglect Questionnaire, and the Barthel Index for Activities of Daily Living were used for data collection. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson's correlation analysis, and simple, multiple, and hierarchical multiple linear regression analyses.

The prevalence of frailty among the participants was 60.6 %, whereas depressive symptoms were seen in 28.6 %, loneliness was identified in 53.7 %, and self-neglect was detected in 32.4 %. Depression, loneliness, and self-neglect significantly predicted frailty, explaining 51.9 % of its variance (p < 0.001). Furthermore, depression, health perceptions, loneliness, self-neglect, pain, the community where the participants lived the longest, and living with a nuclear family were also significant predictors of frailty. Together, these factors accounted for 65.1 % of the total variance in frailty (p < 0.001).

The study found that depression, loneliness, and self-neglect were linked to greater frailty in older adults. Early interventions and psychosocial support may reduce frailty by addressing these issues and promoting social interaction.