OBJECTIVE To analyze the prevalence of falls and frailty syndrome and the association between these two syndromes in the elderly population. METHOD Systematic review, without restriction of dates, in English, Portuguese and Spanish languages, in the databases PubMed, CINAHL, LILACS and in the SciElo virtual library. The association between both variables was extracted from the studies (Odds Ratio and 95% Confidence Intervals). RESULTS The review included 19 studies published between 2001 and 2015. The prevalence of falls in the frail elderly population was between 6.7% and 44%; in the pre-frail, between 10.0% and 52.0%, and in the non-frail, between 7.6% and 90.4%. The association between both variables presented a value of OR 1.80 (95% CI 1.51-2.13). CONCLUSION There is evidence that falls are associated to the frailty in the elderly. Other factors may influence this association, such as age, sex, data collection instrument of the studies, place where they live and the process of senescence.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the demographic and health factors related to the frailty syndrome in older adults. METHODS: This is a longitudinal quantitative study carried out with 262 older adults aged 65 years and older, of both sexes, living at home. Data collection was carried out in Period 1 between October 2007 and February 2008, and in Period 2 between July and December 2013. For data collection, we used the sociodemographic profile instrument, the Edmonton Frail Scale, the Mini-Mental State Examination, the number of falls in the last 12 months, the number of self-reported diseases and used drugs, the Functional Independence Measure, and the Lawton and Brody Scale. We used descriptive statistics for data analysis, in the comparison of the means between periods, the nonparametric Wilcoxon test, and the method of Generalized Estimating Equations, which is considered an extension of the Generalized Linear Models with p ≤ 0.05. RESULTS: Of the 515 participants, 262 completed the follow-up, with a predominance of females, older individuals, and those who had no partner; there was an increase in frail older adults. In the Generalized Estimating Equations analysis, frailty score was related to sociodemographic (increase in age, no partner, and low education level) and health variables (more diseases, drugs, falls, and decrease in functional capacity). There was an association between the variables of age (older), marital status (no partner), and loss of functional capacity. CONCLUSIONS: Frailty syndrome was associated with increasing age, having no partner, and decreased functional capacity over time, and investments are required to prevent this syndrome and promote quality in aging.

La sarcopenia se caracteriza por la pérdida de musculatura durante el envejecimiento, lo que puede traer consecuencias para la salud. Se detecta de diversas formas, una de ellas, el uso de biomarcadores sanguíneos como la albúmina, aunque todavía no se ha establecido dicha asociación de forma definitiva.Esta revisión sistemática y metaanálisis resume el conocimiento sobre la asociación entre sarcopenia y albúmina sérica en los adultos mayores, centrada en la etiología y los factores de riesgo. La revisión se hizo utilizando el programa del Joanna Briggs Institute y la búsqueda incluyó las bases de datos Medline, Embase, CINAHL, y LILACS; la búsqueda manual estuvo a cargo de dos revisores de forma independiente. Para el metaanálisis, se utilizó el programa EpiDat, versión 3.1; las diferencias de medias en los puntajes de lbúmina desagregados por sarcopenia se analizaron mediante el modelo de efectos aleatorios. El grado de heterogeneidad se evaluó con la prueba Q de DerSimonian y Laird.Se analizaron 630 artículos, de los cuales 14 se incluyeron en la revisión. En el metaanálisis, se evidenciaron mayores cantidades de albúmina sanguínea en los adultos mayores que no presentaron sarcopenia frente a los que sí, una diferencia con significación estadística. Aunque hay estudios en los que se explora la asociación entre albúmina y sarcopenia, persiste la necesidad de evaluar la asociación entre los marcadores biológicos, comparándolos entre sí para determinar cuáles pueden utilizarse en la detección de sarcopenia en el adulto mayor.

Objective: to synthesize the knowledge about the association of frailty syndrome and cognitive impairment in older adults. Method: the Joanna Briggs Institute’s systematic review of etiology and risk factors was adopted. The search for the studies was conducted by two independent reviewers in the databases MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL and LILACS and by manual search was performed by tow reviewers independently. The measures of association Odds Ratio and Relative Risk were used in the meta-analysis. The software R version 3.4.3 and the meta-analysis package Metafor 2.0 were used for figure analysis. Results: three studies identified the association of frailty syndrome and cognitive impairment through Odds Ratio values show that frail older adults are 1.4 times more likely to present cognitive impairment than non-frail older adults. Four studies analyzed the association through the measure of Relative Risk and found no statistical significance, and four studies used mean values. Conclusion: despite of the methodological differences of the studies and the lack of definition of an exact proportion in the cause and effect relationship, most studies indicate Frailty Syndrome as a trigger for Cognitive decline.

With the aging process, elderly people present changes in their bodies that can lead them to suffer several geriatric syndromes. The present study aimed to analyze and synthesize the literature produced concerning the association of sarcopenia with falls in elderly people with cognitive impairment. This is a systematic review study on etiology and risk, conducted according to the JBI methodology using the Medline (Pubmed), Cinahl, Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science databases. The gray literature search was conducted in the CAPES Brazilian Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations, Google Scholar, Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD), EBSCO Open Dissertations, DART-e, and ACS Guide to Scholarly Communication. The identification of the association between the variables was extracted from the articles themselves (Odds Ratio and the 95% Confidence Intervals). Four articles published between 2012 and 2021 were included in this review. A prevalence of falls was identified, ranging from 14.2% to 23.1%, of cognitive impairment ranging from 24.1% to 60.8%, and of sarcopenia ranging from 6.1 to 26.6%. The meta-analysis found that elderly people with cognitive impairment who suffer falls are at a 1.88 times greater risk of presenting sarcopenia (p = 0.01). There is evidence of an association between the variables, but it is necessary to conduct follow-up studies to support this association as well as other factors that may influence the senescence and senility process.

O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a sobrecarga dos cuidadores de idosos com acidente vascular cerebral (AVC), assim como correlacioná-la com as horas de cuidado, a idade e a independência funcional dos idosos. Trata-se de estudo transversal feito com 62 idosos com AVC e seus cuidadores. O instrumento continha variáveis sociodemográficas e econômicas, Mini-Exame do Estado Mental, Medida da Independência Funcional (MIF) e a Escala de Zarit. A possível correlação entre os escores da escala de Zarit e as outras variáveis foi avaliada por meio do Coeficiente de Correlação de Pearson. A maioria dos cuidadores era adultos, filhos, casados e do sexo feminino. A média do escore de Zarit foi 34,92 (15,8). A MIF apresentou correlação negativa com a sobrecarga do cuidador, porém, não houve correlação com a idade e as horas de cuidado. A sobrecarga da maioria dos cuidadores variou de moderada a severa e parece estar relacionada ao nível de independência funcional dos idosos