Examination of the factors related to the level of independence in daily life activities in frail elderly individuals

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between the level of independence in daily life activities and associated factors in elderly individuals. Thirty volunteers aged 65 and over receiving outpatient treatment at the Private Sevgi Physical Therapy and Medicine Center in Istanbul were included in the study. The socio-demographic information of all participants was recorded using a socio-demographic form. Mini Mental Test (MMT) was used for cognitive assessments, Edmonton Frail Scale (EFS) was used to determine the level of frailty, Katz Index of Independence in Activities of Daily Living (ADL) was used to evaluate the level of independence in daily life activities, Timed Up and Go Test (TUG) was used to assess fall risk and mobility, Tandem Stance Test was used to evaluate balance, Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) was used for depression assessment, Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia (TSK) was used to determine the level of kinesiophobia, and Jamar Hand Dynamometer was used for measuring hand grip strength. The average age of our study involving geriatric individuals is 71.03 ± 5.38, with 19 (63%) being female and 11 (37%) male participants. The average score on the daily life activities scale for those who failed the balance test in under 30 seconds is 5.13 ± 1.25, while it is 6.0 ± 0.00 for those who passed it in over 30 seconds. According to the correlation analysis results, it was seen that the correlation relations between ADL and all variables were affected by HGST dominant, HGST non-dominant and ZKYT duration. It was determined that MMDT, GDS, TKO, Edmonton Frail Scale scores did not affect ADL levels at multiple levels (p>0.05). According to the results of the regression analysis; It has been stated that hand grip strength and mobility explain the level of independence in daily living activities by 52%. (R²=0.52) In our study examining the relationship between daily living activity and independence level in geriatric individuals; It has been observed that the most important determinant of the level of independence in daily living activities is muscle strength and the second most important determinant is mobility. Additionally, it has been determined that as the risk of falling and kinesiophobia increases, the level of independence in daily living activities decreases, and as the mental state worsens, the level of independence in daily living activities increases.