Practical Geriatrics ›› 2026, Vol. 40 ›› Issue (1): 43-47.doi: 10.3969/j.issn.1003-9198.2026.01.009

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Association between frailty and apathy in community-dwelling elderly adults

TAO Lu, XIA Zeyan   

  1. Department of Emergency, Zhongda Hospital Affiliated to Southeast University, Nanjing 210009, China
  • Received:2025-05-10 Published:2026-01-16
  • Contact: XIA Zeyan, Email: xiazeyan@163.com

Abstract: Objective To explore the correlation between frailty and apathy in community-dwelling elderly adults. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted from September to December 2024. A total of 415 elderly individuals aged 60 years and over were included by convenience sampling. Frailty and apathy were assessed by Fried frailty phenotype scale and the apathy items derived from the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-3A),respectively. Multivariate logistic regression was used to analyze the correlation between frailty and apathy, and the receiver operating characteristic ( ROC ) curve was drawn to evaluate the predictive value of frailty for apathy. Results The prevalence of apathy was 40% (166/415). Frailty was identified as an independent influencing factor for apathy (OR=1.971, 95%CI: 1.518-2.561, P<0.001). The ROC curve analysis showed that frailty score had a predictive efficacy for apathy (AUC=0.673, 95%CI: 0.621-0.725, P<0.001). Conclusions Frailty is an independent factor for apathy in community-dwelling elderly adults. Interventions targeting frailty may represent a novel strategy for mitigating apathy in this population.

Key words: aged, apathy, frailty, chronic disease, cross-sectional study

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