Geriatric syndrome awareness and its determinants in China: a cross-sectional study.

Background: This study aims to investigate the awareness rate of six common geriatric syndromes and related influencing factors among the older adults aged 65 and above in China.

Methods: This is a multicenter cross-sectional study involving 6,653 participants aged 65 and older from four regions who completed a questionnaire on geriatric syndrome awareness. The questionnaire covered demographic data, health information, medication usage, and an assessment scale for knowledge of six geriatric syndromes (GS Awareness Scale).

Results: A total of 6,653 respondents were surveyed, with 5,318 valid questionnaires collected (79.93%), including 1,311 from Zhejiang (24.7%), 1,356 from Beijing (25.5%), 1,373 from Sichuan (25.8%), and 1,278 from Fujian (24.0%). The highest awareness was for falls, with 3,295 individuals (62.0%), followed by dementia with 2,929 individuals (55.1%), malnutrition with 2,907 individuals (54.7%), frailty with 2,156 individuals (40.5%), urinary incontinence with 2,006 individuals (37.7%), and sarcopenia with 1,914 individuals (36.0%). Univariate analysis showed that factors such as region, age, marital status, living situation, educational level, source of respondents, income status, and smoking had statistically significant differences in awareness rates (P < 0.05). Multivariate logistic regression results indicated that the source of respondents significantly affected the awareness rates (P < 0.05), with the older adults from rural areas having an increased risk of lower awareness compared to urban areas; age also significantly influenced the awareness rates (P < 0.05), with older age groups (76-85, 86-95 years) having a higher risk of reduced awareness compared to those aged 65-75 years.

Conclusions: The awareness of common geriatric syndromes among the older adults population aged 65 years and older in China is notably low. Consequently, there exists a critical need to enhance the formulation of policies regarding geriatric syndromes across various regions, aiming to elevate health literacy among this demographic.