Development trajectories and influencing factors of social frailty in older adult patients with heart failure: a prospective longitudinal study.

Background

Social frailty is a dynamic state. However, to our knowledge, few studies have examined the characteristics of changes in social frailty and their influencing factors.

Objectives

This study aimed to explore the developmental trajectory patterns of social frailty and to investigate the factors influencing these patterns.

Methods

This study was conducted from August 2023 to December 2024 at a comprehensive hospital affiliated with a university. Latent Growth Mixture Models for analyzing the developmental trajectories of social frailty. Univariate and logistic regression analyses, supplemented by random forest to identify and rank factors influencing these trajectory patterns.

Results

Three distinct social frailty trajectory patterns were identified: Low social frailty with continuous improvement group (126, 45%), Moderate social frailty with slow aggravation group (97, 34.6%), and High social frailty with rapid aggravation group (57, 20.4%). Marital status, sleep status, depression and activities of daily living were key factors influencing these trajectory patterns (P < 0.05). Random forest analysis prioritized activities of daily living as the primary predictor of social frailty.

Conclusions

This study highlights distinct trajectory patterns of social frailty. Nursing departments can leverage this information to develop personalized interventions, providing a theoretical foundation for research aimed at improving social frailty in older adult patients with heart failure.