Anxiety, Life Space Mobility and Quality of Life Among Frail Older Adults in Enugu, South East Nigeria

Background Frailty in older adults is associated with psychological distress, including anxiety, which may stem from restricted life-space mobility and negatively impact quality of life (QoL). In low-resource settings like Nigeria, where geriatric mental health and mobility support are understudied, understanding of these relationships is critical for targeted interventions. Objectives To determine the prevalence of anxiety, life space mobility profile and quality of life; their relationship with each other and selected demographic variables among frail older adults in Enugu, southeast Nigeria Methods This was a cross-sectional study comprising 119 (58.0% female; 70.6% married; 52.9% self-employed) consenting frail older adults who were purposively recruited from two communities in Enugu south L.GA in Enugu state. Frail scale, Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7- item (GAD-7), Life Space Questionnaire and the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL) Questionnaire were used to measure frailty, anxiety, life-space mobility and quality of life respectively; socio-demographic information was obtained through oral interview. Obtained data was analyzed using frequency, percentage, Chi-square, Spearman rank order correlation coefficient, Kruskal Wallis test and Mann Whitney U test. Level of significance was set at p < 0.05. Results Anxiety was negatively correlated with life-space mobility (rho= -0.286, p = 0.002). QoL differed significantly by gender (women scored higher, U = 1258.0, p = 0.012), marital status (married individuals had better QoL, X ²  = 12.58, p = 0.006), and employment (employed participants reported higher QoL, X ²  = 12.10, p = 0.002). Conclusion While moderate anxiety and life-space restrictions were relatively low in this sample, anxiety was significantly linked to reduced mobility. Marital and employment status were key predictors of QoL, suggesting that social and economic support may buffer frailty-related declines. Targeted interventions for widowed, unemployed, and male older adults could mitigate QoL disparities in this population.