Prevalence Of Frailty In Rural Community-Dwelling Older Adults In Kegalle District Of Sri Lanka: A Population-Based Cross-Sectional Study

Objective Our main objective was to describe the prevalence and associated sociodemographic factors of frailty and pre-frailty in rural community-dwelling older adults in Kegalle district of Sri Lanka.Design Community-based cross-sectional study.Setting The study was conducted in rural areas of Kegalle district in Sri Lanka.Participants A total of 746 community-dwelling older adults aged >= 60 years were included in the study.Results The prevalence of frailty and pre-frailty in rural Kegalle district was 15.2% (95% CI 12.3% to 18.6%) and 48.5% (95% CI 43.8% to 53.2%), respectively. We found a strong association between age and both frailty and pre-frailty. There were strong associations between longest-held occupation and frailty and education level and pre-frailty.Conclusions The prevalence of frailty in this rural Sri Lankan older population was high compared with high-income and upper middle-income countries. The profile of health and social care services in Sri Lanka needs to address frailty and its consequences.