Body composition and frailty profiles in Brazilian older people: Frailty in Brazilian Older People Study-FIBRA-BR

Objective: To determine the association between body composition and frailty in older Brazilian subjects.

Material and methods: This is a Cross-sectional study called FIBRA-BR and developed in community Brazilian aged ≥65 (n=5638). Frailty was assessed according to Fried et al. definition and body composition was determined by BMI, waist circumference and waist-hip ratio.

Results: The lowest prevalence of frailty was observed in subjects with BMI between 25.0 and 29.9kg/m². Subjects with a BMI <18.5 and those with elevated WC presented a higher risk of frailty compared to eutrophic subjects (odds ratio (OR)=3.10; 95% CI: 2.06-4.67) and (OR=1.15; 95% CI: 1.03-1.27), respectively. Being overweight was protective for pre-frailty (OR=0.48; 95% CI: 0.4-0.58) and frailty (OR=0.77; 95% CI: 0.67-0.9). Obese older people presented a higher risk of pre-frailty only (OR=1.29; 95% CI: 1.09-1.51). Older people with high WC showed a greater proportion of frailty regardless of the BMI range.

Conclusion: Undernutrition is associated with pre-frailty and frailty in Brazilian elderly subjects, whereas obesity is associated only with pre-frailty. Overweight seems to have a protective effect against the syndrome. The excess of abdominal fat is associated with both profiles independent of the BMI.