Effects of Physical Activity on Frailty of Older People in China——An Empirical Analysis Based on CHARLS

Objective: To analyze the effects of physical activity on the frailty of older people in China, and provide scientific basis for preventing and intervening the frailty of physical activity. Methods: Frailty Index (FI) was used to evaluate the frailty of older people in China based on the data of China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) in 2018, the logistic regression model was used to analyze the effects of physical activity on frailty, and the propensity score matching was used to eliminate self-selection bias. Results: (1) The prevalence of frailty among older people in China was 23.59%. and the risk of frailty decreases with increasing physical activity energy consumption. When the other factors were controlled, the risk of frailty decreased by 4% for each 1 met-h/d increase in physical activity. (2) Compared with moderate to intensive physical activity, the risk of frailty in older people with low physical activity was 3.17 times higher than that with moderate to intensive physical activity. (3) The net effect of low physical activity on frailty in older people was 20% when the three propensity score matching was used to correct the selection bias of the samples. (4) Heterogeneity analysis showed that low physical activity was more likely to increase the frailty risk of female older people, older people with low education level, older people without spouse, and urban older people. Conclusion: The prevalence of frailty is high among older people in China. The risk of frailty is higher in older people with low physical activity, and moderate to vigor physical activity is more likely to reduce the risk of frailty in older people. Meanwhile, the relationship between physical activity and risk of frailty has also showed group heterogeneity. Society should pay attention to the problem of frailty in older people, carry out frailty screening, and actively guide older people to do physical activity.