• Emmanuel Navarro-Flores, Ricardo Becerro-de-Bengoa-Vallejo, César Calvo-Lobo, Marta Elena Losa-Iglesias, Patricia Palomo-López, Victoria Mazoteras-Pardo, Carlos Romero-Morales, and Daniel López-López.
• MSc, PhD, DPM. Assistant Professor, Department of Nursing, Faculty of Nursing and Podiatry, University of Valencia; and Frailty Research Organized Group (FROG), University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain.
• Sao Paulo Med J. 2021 Jul 1; 139 (4): 319-324.

BackgroundFrailty is a condition that can increase the risk of falls. In addition, foot disorders can negatively influence elderly people, thus affecting their condition of frailty.ObjectiveTo determine whether foot pain can influence a greater degree of frailty.Design And SettingCross-sectional descriptive study conducted at the University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain.MethodsA sample older than 60 years (n = 52), including 26 healthy subjects and 26 foot pain patients, was recruited. Frailty disability was measured using the 5-Frailty scale and the Edmonton Frailty scale (EFS).ResultsThere were statistically significant differences in the total EFS score and in most of its subscales, according to the Mann-Whitney U test (P < 0.05). In addition, foot pain patients presented worse scores (higher 5-Frailty scores) than did healthy patients, regarding matched-paired subjects (lower EFS scores). With regard to the rest of the measurements, there were no statistically significant differences (P > 0.05). The highest scores (P < 0.001) were for fatigue on the 5-Frailty scale and the EFS, and for the subscale of independence function in EFS.ConclusionsThese elderly patients presented impairment relating to ambulation and total 5-Frailty score, which seemed to be linked to the presence of frailty syndrome and foot disorders.

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