Association between frailty and life satisfaction among older people in Shandong, China: the differences in age and general self‐efficacy

BACKGROUND: Frailty and other functional declines may be related to life satisfaction (LS) in the general elderly population. This study aims to investigate the association between frailty and LS among older individuals (age >/=60) and the impacts of age and general self-efficacy on the relationships. METHODS: Using data from the 2017 Survey of the Shandong elderly Family Health Service, a cross-sectional study was conducted and 7070 older people aged 60+ were analysed. LS was measured using the Satisfaction with Life Scale. A Frailty Index (ranged 0~1) was determined as a proportion of accumulated deficits over 51 categories. General self-efficacy was measured using the Chinese version of the General Self-Efficacy Scale. Multiple weighted linear regression was used to examine possible relationships between the research variables. RESULTS: There was a negative association between frailty and LS. A dose-response-type relationship between net income and LS was observed. The interaction between frailty and age was found to be significantly associated with LS. Frailty has a stronger negative impact on LS among the young-old (60-69 years) than among the middle-old (70-79 years) and old-old (80+ years), which suggests a protective effect of ageing on LS reduction due to frailty. However, this protective effect was observed among individuals with low and medium level self-efficacy. CONCLUSIONS: The relationship between frailty and LS generally weaken with age. The higher level of general self-efficacy may provide a partial buffer against the negative impact of frailty on LS. Interventions that target to prevent and manage frailty should consider being prioritised among the young-old population. Development of self-efficacy could serve as an important strategy to buffer the negative effect of frailty on LS among older people.