Abstract

PURPOSE The health status and the rate of frailty of the Italian elderly population have been defined by previous studies having great organizational burdens, employing too selected populations or using partial and unreliable information.

The aim of the present study is to define the same parameters through the data collected onto the GP’s database in routine working procedures, even in the perspective of involving a wider and more representative sample of Italian elderly population and frailty reality.

METHODS A group of 18 GPs (23863 patients) of the Marche Region (centre of Italy) has defined the health status, the functional autonomy (with respect to the index of ADL Activities of Daily Living), and the healthcare conditions of their over75s patients (3111, 13% of total) by analyzing the data extracted from practice databases related to the year 2009. The frailty was identified considering the following domains: age, functional condition, coexistence of chronic diseases, multidrug therapy, social and environmental status.

RESULTS This population presents predominantly good functional conditions (ADL score = 0 in 75.7%); 16.2% doesn’t have any of the more Frequent Chronic Pathologies (FCPs); 34.6% have only one. The number of FCPs increases in the advanced age groups and in subjects with higher ADL score. With respect to the domains explored, the frailty results as being present in 17.6% of the subjects (18.9% F; 15.5% M) and becomes more frequent in the older women.

CONCLUSIONS It has been possible to define the over 75s’ healthcare and welfare conditions and to identify the rate of frailty using the GPs’ databases which are considered reliable sources, frequently updated, easy to consult and with a guaranteed routine flow of information. Considering these results next step will be to draw a study in order to evaluate a larger and more representative sample of Italian elderly population, to analyze the described parameters and to follow their changes in time passages.

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