Seminar Intersectional Profiles of Multidimensional Frailty Among Older Adults in Italy

Speaker: Benedetta Pongiglione (University of Pavia)

Abstract:

Frailty is a multidimensional phenomenon shaped by biological, psychological, and social domains, and represents a key public health concern in the context of ageing populations. This study investigates patterns of bio-psycho-social frailty among older adults in Italy, with the dual aim of (i) identifying meaningful frailty profiles, and (ii) examining the demographic and socio-economic determinants of frailty classes through an intersectional lens. Data were drawn from the 2019 wave of the European Health Interview Survey (EHIS). Latent class analysis was applied to items of frailty corresponding to the domains of the Tilburg Frailty Indicator (TFI), and multinomial logistic regression was used to assess the intersectional influence of sex, age, education, and marital status on class membership. A four-class model provided the best fit for both men and women, capturing distinct frailty profiles consisting in no frailty (50.3%), psychological (13.0%), physical (20.4%) and multidimensional frailty (16.2%). Results highlight that older women with lower educational attainment and not partnered are disproportionately exposed to multiple forms of frailty, while younger elderly men were more likely to belong to the non-frail class. High education emerged as a non-assigned attribute that mitigates the effects of ageing and gender on frailty dynamics. The study provides robust evidence of the heterogeneity of frailty experiences and the need for policy and intervention strategies sensitive to intersecting vulnerabilities in later life.

Organizer: Saverio Minardi