Screening Value of Social Frailty and Its Association with Physical Frailty and Disability in Community-Dwelling Older Koreans: Aging Study of PyeongChang Rural Area

Abstract

Population aging is a challenge, therefore efficient frailty screening has been increasingly emphasized for mass older populations. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of social frailty and its association with physical frailty, geriatric syndromes and activity of daily living (ADL) disability in community-dwelling older adults. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 408 older adults (mean age, 75 years; 58% female) in the Aging Study of PyeongChang Rural Area. A five-item social frailty index was administered (range: 0–5); (1) going out less frequently; (2) rarely visiting the homes of friends; (3) feeling unhelpful to friends and family; (4) being alone; and (5) not talking with someone every day. Social frailty was defined as ≥2 positive responses. Physical frailty was assessed according to the Cardiovascular Health Study frailty phenotype criteria. We used logistic regression to examine whether social frailty can identify older adults with common geriatric syndromes including ADL disability, independently of age, gender, and physical frailty. Social frailty was present in 20.5% (14.5% in male and 25.0% in female) and 11.5% was not overlapped with physical frailty. Social frailty increased risk of ADL disability (odds ratio, 2.53; 95% confidence interval, 1.26–5.09) and depressed mood (odds ratio, 4.01; 95% confidence interval, 1.30–12.39) independently of age, gender, and physical frailty. The predictive power for disability was maximized by using both frailty indices (C statistic 0.73) compared with either frailty index alone (C statistic: 0.71 for social frailty and 0.68 for physical frailty). Social frailty screening is important as it can identify frail older adults who are not captured by demographic characteristics and physical frailty. Moreover, assessment of both social frailty and physical frailty can better detect disability and geriatric syndromes.

Association of Social Frailty with Physical Health, Cognitive Function, Psychological Health, and Life Satisfaction in Community-Dwelling Older Koreans

“…Therefore, the major differences from previous studies are with regard to the items of the social frailty questionnaire and the study population. While the five-item social frailty assessment is popular [ 9 , 25 , 26 , 27 ], participants’ culture and environment have not always been considered in existing research. Regarding other measures of social frailty, as in this study, many previous studies have used participants’ living status (living alone or with someone) [ 9 , 12 , 13 , 16 , 17 ].…”

Role of cognitive resources on everyday functioning among oldest-old physically frail

“…Similarly, there is ample evidence for a positive relationship between poorer physical aptitude (often called physical frailty [20,21]) and higher-level ADL loss [22][23][24][25]. Indeed, muscle strength, balance, vision, or hearing, are commonly decreasing with age, which may lead to serious ADL limitations.…”

Frailty Scores and Their Utility in Older Patients with Cardiovascular Disease

“…Social frailty was positively associated with physical frailty on the CHS score, whereas the FI and EFS have proved to most accurately predict mortality in comparative studies. [ 72 , 73 ] Other frailty subtypes, such as nutritional frailty, may also have a crucial role in predicting outcomes in CVD patients. [ 74 , 75 ] Worse quality of life has also been linked to frailty, which supports the importance of multidimensional assessment tools.…”