DETECTION AND PREVENTION OF FRAILTY IN INDEPENDENTLY LIVING PRE-ELDERLY AND ELDERLY IN NORTHEASTERN ROMANIA

Frailty is the central feature of old age, a new concept in medicine, being the leading cause of decreased quality of life, dependency and death in elderly people. The older we get, the more fragile the basic balance, and increasingly lower aggression can be sufficient to disrupt this balance. Aim: To identify frailty through the Romanian version of the Groningen fragility indicator (GFI) questionnaire among the independently living elderly in the northeastern region of Romania. Material and Methods: GFI questionnaire was applied to 60 persons aged 65 to 95 years, randomly selected from general practices in Iasi town and Iasi country in the interval March-April 2014. Results: A significant percentage of the subjects were considered frail, particularly women, and divorced or widowed. According to the general practitioners, 65% of the older persons were frail without significant gender and marital status-related differences, with a significantly higher degree of frailty in those the those aged over 75. Conclusions:  These findings are a red flag to the health system, and given the major social impact the detection of frailty and early intervention should be a priority.