Exploring Multidimensional Frailty in Older Adults in Italy: An Intersectional Perspective

Benedetta Pongiglione , UNIVERSITA Di PAVIA
Gaia Segantin, Amsterdam UMC
Tommaso Aicardi, Bocconi University

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 discrete classes of frailty, rather than relying on continuous measures, 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 across biological, psychological, and social dimensions. Results highlight that older women with lower educational attainment are disproportionately exposed to multiple forms of frailty, while younger elderly men were more likely to belong to the non-frail class, underscoring the compounding effects of gender and socio-economic disadvantage. While the TFI could not be perfectly replicated within the available data, 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.

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 Presented in Session P6. Health, Mortality, and Ageing 2