Background: With the deepening of aging, the incidence of chronic diseases among the elderly in rural areas is higher. Patients with chronic diseases are more inclined to have a high level of social vulnerability due to their physical and psychological burden. However, to date, there have been no study on social frailty in the elderly with chronic diseases in rural areas. Objective: To identify the level and determinants of social frailty in the elderly with chronic diseases in rural areas. Methods: Investigate 240 elderly people with chronic diseases in rural communities by using the general information scale, HALFT scale, the Geriatric Depression Scale-5 (GDS-5), the Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS) and the Self-perceived Burden Scale. Results: The elderly with chronic diseases in rural areas who suffered from social frailty, accounted for 27.1%. And the elderly suffering from pre-social frailty, accounted for 45% of study objects. Logistic regression showed that age, marital status, exercise frequency, depression, social support and self-perceived burden were factors affecting social frailty (all P<0.05). Conclusion: The incidence of social frailty in the elderly with chronic diseases in rural areas was higher. Intervention measures should be developed to improve the level of social support and to lower the level of depression and self-perceived burden. In order to slow down the occurrence of social weakness and promote the realization of active ageing.

Chronic Diseases, The Elderly, Social Frailty, Influencing Factor