Vestnik Smolenskoy Gosudarstvennoy Meditsinskoy Akademii · 2026
Role of a primary care physician in early diagnostics of frailty syndrome in elderly outpatients
By Golovanova Elena Dmitrievna, Glushko Sergey Aleksandrovich, Vakher Angelina Illimarovna et al.
Objective. The aim of the study was to assess the prevalence of frailty syndrome among outpatients aged 65 years and older and design an algorithm for its early identification by.primary care physicians. Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted in a city outpatient clinic. 100 patients (65 women, 35 men; mean age 74.3±6.2 years) were enrolled. Frailty was assessed using the FRAIL scale, the “Age is not a barrier” questionnaire, the Timed Up and Go (TUG) test, handgrip dynamometry, and the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB). Comorbidities, falls and episodes of hospitalizations were recorded. Statistical analysis was performed with StatTech v.2.8 (χ² test, Mann–Whitney U test, Spearman correlation). Results. Frailty was found in 25% of examined patients, prefrailty in 45%. In the frailty group, handgrip strength was 21.2±4.0 kg in men (p<0.001) and 14.1±2.1 kg in women (p<0.001); TUG time was 16.5±3.4 s (p<0.001); SPPB score was 5.8±1.8 (p<0.001). Mean number of chronic diseases in the frailty group was 5.2±1.1. Falls during the previous year occurred in 60% of frail patients, hospitalizations in 48% (p<0.001). Major risk factors for falls were polypharmacy (79% of fallers) and orthostatic hypotension (64%). Decompensated chronic heart failure accounted for 43% of all hospitalizations. After diagnostics of frailty, all patients were referred to a geriatrician and 48% to a neurologist for consultations; newly diagnosed cognitive impairment was found in 22% and vitamin D deficiency in 24% of those examined. Conclusion. Frailty and prefrailty are highly prevalent in elderly outpatients. Screening using the FRAIL scale and the TUG test is efficient, takes 5-7 minutes, and enables timely referral to a geriatrician for further consultations, diagnostics of concomitant geriatric syndromes, and optimization of treatment.