Impact of quality of life on future frailty status of rural Japanese community-dwelling older adults

Takara Mori; Koutatsu Nagai; Kayoko Tamaki; Hiroshi Kusunoki; Yosuke Wada; Shotaro Tsuji; Ryota Matsuzawa; Kyoko Sano; Manabu Amano; Ken Shinmura

doi:10.1016/j.exger.2022.111930

Impact of quality of life on future frailty status of rural Japanese community-dwelling older adults

Exp Gerontol. 2022 Oct 15:168:111930. doi: 10.1016/j.exger.2022.111930. Epub 2022 Aug 17.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of General Internal Medicine, Hyogo College of Medicine, Nishinomiya, Hyogo, Japan; Amagasaki Medical COOP Honden Clinic, Amagasaki, Hyogo, Japan.
² School of Rehabilitation, Hyogo University of Health Sciences, Kobe, Hyogo, Japan.
³ Department of General Internal Medicine, Hyogo College of Medicine, Nishinomiya, Hyogo, Japan.
⁴ Department of General Internal Medicine, Hyogo College of Medicine, Nishinomiya, Hyogo, Japan; Department of Internal Medicine, Osaka Dental University, Osaka, Osaka, Japan.
⁵ Department of General Internal Medicine, Hyogo College of Medicine, Nishinomiya, Hyogo, Japan; Roppou Clinic, Toyooka, Hyogo, Japan.
⁶ Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Hyogo College of Medicine, Nishinomiya, Hyogo, Japan.
⁷ School of Pharmacy, Hyogo University of Health Sciences, Kobe, Hyogo, Japan.
⁸ Department of General Internal Medicine, Hyogo College of Medicine, Nishinomiya, Hyogo, Japan. Electronic address: ke-shimmura@hyo-med.ac.jp.

PMID: 35987474
DOI: 10.1016/j.exger.2022.111930

Abstract

Objectives: We aimed to clarify the factors that contribute to the improvement or progression of frailty in rural Japanese community-dwelling older adults.

Methods: Of the 840 participants in the cohort study of independent older adults aged 65 years and older living in the Tamba-Sasayama area of Hyogo Prefecture (FESTA study) from September 2016 to December 2017, 551 participated in the 2-year follow-up survey from September 2018 to December 2019.

Methods: We evaluated clinical background, physical and cognitive function, total physical activity, daily protein intake, quality of life (QOL) using the WHOQOL-BREF (WHOQOL-26), and frailty status diagnosed using the Japanese version of the Cardiovascular Health Study. We compared the frailty status at the initial and follow-up examinations and classified the participants into three groups: improvement, unchanged, and worsening. Each parameter was compared among the three groups and the factors contributing to the improvement or worsening of frailty status were analyzed using a modified Poisson regression analysis.

Results: The median age at the first survey was 72 years (range: 68-76); 190 men and 361 women were enrolled. The improvement group consisted of individuals with a change in status from frail to prefrail/robust and from prefrail to robust (n = 114); the worsening group consisted of individuals with a change in status from robust to prefrail/frail and from prefrail to frail (n = 92). The physical domain of QOL was significantly associated with an improvement in frailty status independent of the frailty status at baseline. Contrastingly, any domains of QOL were not significantly associated with a worsening frailty status.

Conclusions: This study demonstrated for the first time that QOL has a significant impact on the future improvement and progression of frailty status and that QOL conditions and frailty status affect older adults bidirectionally.

Keywords: Frailty; Longitudinal study; Older adults; Quality of life (QOL); WHOQOL-BREF(WHOQOL-26).

Publication types

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

MeSH terms

Aged
Cohort Studies
Dietary Proteins
Female
Frail Elderly / psychology
Frailty* / diagnosis
Frailty* / epidemiology
Geriatric Assessment
Humans
Independent Living / psychology
Japan / epidemiology
Male
Quality of Life / psychology

Substances

Dietary Proteins