Objectives:

1) Characterize physical, psychological and social dimensions of frailty in relation to physical activity, calf circumference (CC) and number of chronic diseases in community dwelling older persons. 2) Contrast their subjective responses of the physical frailty dimension with results of objective tests of grip strength, gait, and balance.

Methodology:

Correlational, cross-sectional descriptive study. Participants were 214 people aged 60 and over, convenient non probabilistic sampling. The Tilburg Frailty Indicator and the Physical Activity Questionnaire for the Elderly were subjective measures. Calf circumference, grip strength, get up and walk test, and balance assessment served as objective measures. The SPSS v20 program was used for data analysis.

Results:

The mean age of the participants was 71.64 (SD = 7.10), years of school 6.08 (SD = 6.00), grip strength 22.27 kg/force (SD = 7.73), CC 34.93 cm (SD = 3.92), and get up and go test 15 seconds (SD = 5.62). Participants that indicated suffer from 2 chronic diseases were 43.9% (92): diabetes mellitus type 2 and hypertension, 38.7% (83) other and none 18.2% (39). Proportion of frailty self-reported, in the 3 dimensions was higher in women, but more proportion of men showed frailty by hand grip. Physical, psychological and hand grip frailty were higher in those who suffer diabetes and hypertension. Frailty by calf circumference was low and higher in those with low physical activity. General frailty (rs = -0.17, p < 0.01) and physical activity (rs = -0.18, p < 0.01) were related to physical activity, but not to calf circumference. U Mann-Whitney tests revealed significant differences (p < 0.001) between those who reported losses or physical difficulty and objective tests. Findings should be taken with caution given the convenience sampling.

Conclusions:

Those who reported having difficulty in hand strength, walking and balance, showed scores that reflect worse performance in objective tests.

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