Associations between Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors and Frailty among Community- dwelling Elderly Individuals in Shenzhen, China: A Cross-sectional Study

Background Previous studies on frailty and cardiovascular disease (CVD) were conducted mainly among older patients with CVD. Few studies have examined the relationship between frailty and cardiovascular risk among elderly individuals without CVD. Objectives This study aimed to assess the prevalence of frailty and its association with cardiovascular risk among community-dwelling elderly individuals in Shenzhen, China. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted between March and July 2024. Community-dwelling elderly individuals aged 65 to 74 years without CVD in Shenzhen, China, were recruited. Data on sociodemographic characteristics, cardiovascular risk factors, and frailty status were collected through questionnaires and physical measurements. The 10-year Framingham risk score (FRS) was used to evaluate cardiovascular risk, whereas frailty status was assessed via the FRAIL scale (categorizing participants as healthy, pre-frail, or frail). Multivariate regression models were applied to identify the factors associated with frailty. Results A total of 274 participants were included, with an average age of 67.98 years. The prevalence rates of frailty and pre-frailty were 10.95% and 45.62%, respectively. The average FRS was 26.52%, with 89.05% having increased cardiovascular risk (FRS ≥ 10%). Regression analysis revealed that age, health satisfaction, depressive symptoms, systolic blood pressure (SBP), history of hypertension, and number of comorbidities (all p values < 0.05) were significantly associated with frailty scores (adjusted R ²  = 0.329, p  < 0.001). Although a significant correlation was observed between frailty and the FRS, the FRS was not included in the regression model ( p  > 0.05). Conclusions Frailty, pre-frailty and increased cardiovascular risk were common in community-dwelling elderly individuals in Shenzhen. Age, systolic blood pressure, history of hypertension, multiple comorbidities, health satisfaction, and depressive symptoms were significantly associated with frailty among elderly individuals without CVD. These findings emphasize the importance of early identification of frailty and CVD among community-dwelling elderly individuals. Multifactorial interventions to address potential risk factors for frailty should be provided for this population. Clinical trial registration : Not applicable.