Association between oral, social, and physical frailty in community-dwelling older adults

Sanae Hironaka; Yoshihiro Kugimiya; Yutaka Watanabe; Keiko Motokawa; Hirohiko Hirano; Hisashi Kawai; Takeshi Kera; Motonaga Kojima; Yoshinori Fujiwara; Kazushige Ihara; Hunkyung Kim; Shuichi Obuchi; Yasuaki Kakinoki

doi:10.1016/j.archger.2020.104105

Association between oral, social, and physical frailty in community-dwelling older adults

Arch Gerontol Geriatr. 2020 Jul-Aug:89:104105. doi: 10.1016/j.archger.2020.104105. Epub 2020 May 16.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Special Needs and Geriatric Dentistry, Kyushu Dental University, Kitakyushu, Japan; Research Team for Promoting Independence and Mental Health, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, Tokyo, Japan.
² Department of Removable Prosthodontics and Gerodontology, Tokyo Dental College, Tokyo, Japan.
³ Research Team for Promoting Independence and Mental Health, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, Tokyo, Japan; Gerodontology, Department of Oral Health Science, Faculty of Dental Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan. Electronic address: ywata@den.hokudai.ac.jp.
⁴ Research Team for Promoting Independence and Mental Health, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, Tokyo, Japan.
⁵ Research Team for Promoting Independence and Mental Health, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, Tokyo, Japan; Department of Oral Surgery and Dentistry, Tokyo Metropolitan Geriatric Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
⁶ Research Team for Human Care, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, Tokyo, Japan.
⁷ Research Team for Human Care, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, Tokyo, Japan; Department of Physical Therapy, Takasaki University of Health and Welfare, Gunma, Japan.
⁸ Department of Physical Therapy, University of Tokyo Health Sciences, Tokyo, Japan.
⁹ Research Team for Social Participation and Community Health, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, Tokyo, Japan.
¹⁰ Department of Social Medicine, Hirosaki University Graduate School of Medicine, Aomori, Japan.
¹¹ Department of Special Needs and Geriatric Dentistry, Kyushu Dental University, Kitakyushu, Japan.

PMID: 32480111
DOI: 10.1016/j.archger.2020.104105

Abstract

Objectives: Oral frailty (OF) has been shown to be a predictor of disability. Therefore, it is important to be able to identify factors associated with OF in order to prevent long-term dependence. The purpose of this study was to clarify the relationships between OF, social frailty (SF), and physical frailty (PF) in community-dwelling older adults, with the overarching aim of informing the future development of effective measures to prevent frailty.

Methods: Oral, physical, and social function, nutritional and psychological status, and medical history were examined in 682 community-dwelling individuals (267 men, 415 women) aged ≥ 65 years. Ordinal logistic regression analysis with SF and PF as independent variables was performed with pass analysis to determine the relationship between the different types of frailty.

Results: Logistic regression analysis revealed significant associations between OF and decline in social function, physical function, and nutritional status, and an increase in the number of medications used. Path analysis showed that SF was directly related to OF and that OF and SF were directly related to PF.

Conclusions: These findings suggest that a decline in social function may directly influence a decline in oral and physical function. The results of this study provide initial evidence, that may guide the future development of measures that aim to prevent and manage OF.

Keywords: Oral frailty; Oral function; Path analysis; Physical frailty; Polypharmacy; Social frailty.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Aged
Cross-Sectional Studies
Disabled Persons*
Female
Frail Elderly
Frailty* / epidemiology
Geriatric Assessment
Humans
Independent Living*
Interpersonal Relations*
Male
Nutritional Status