Objective assessment of the association between frailty and sedentary behavior in older adults: a cross-sectional study

Wen-Ning Chang; Pei-Lin Tzeng; Wei-Jia Huang; Yu-Hung Lin; Kun-Pei Lin; Chiung-Jung Wen; Yi-Chun Chou; Yung Liao; Ming-Chun Hsueh; Ding-Cheng Chan

doi:10.1186/s11556-023-00324-5

Objective assessment of the association between frailty and sedentary behavior in older adults: a cross-sectional study

Eur Rev Aging Phys Act. 2023 Aug 7;20(1):14. doi: 10.1186/s11556-023-00324-5.

Authors

Wen-Ning Chang¹, Pei-Lin Tzeng^{1

2}, Wei-Jia Huang¹, Yu-Hung Lin^{2

3}, Kun-Pei Lin^{1

4}, Chiung-Jung Wen^{1

5}, Yi-Chun Chou^{1

5}, Yung Liao⁶, Ming-Chun Hsueh⁷, Ding-Cheng Chan^{8

9}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Geriatrics and Gerontology, National Taiwan University Hospital, No. 7, Chungshan S. Rd, Taipei, 100225, Taiwan.
² Department of Health Promotion and Health Education, National Taiwan Normal University, No 162, Section 1, Heping E. Rd, Taipei, 106209, Taiwan.
³ National Taiwan University Hospital, Bei-Hu Branch, No. 87 Neijiang Street, Taipei, 108206, Taiwan.
⁴ Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, No. 7, Chungshan S. Rd, Taipei, 100225, Taiwan.
⁵ Department of Family Medicine, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, No. 7, Chungshan S. Rd, Taipei, 100225, Taiwan.
⁶ Graduate Institute of Sport, Leisure and Hospitality Management, National Taiwan Normal University, No. 162, Section 1, Heping E. Rd, Taipei, 106209, Taiwan.
⁷ Graduate Institute of Sport Pedagogy, University of Taipei, No. 101, Sec. 2, Zhongcheng Rd, Taipei, 111036, Taiwan.
⁸ Department of Geriatrics and Gerontology, National Taiwan University Hospital, No. 7, Chungshan S. Rd, Taipei, 100225, Taiwan. dingchengchan@ntu.edu.tw.
⁹ Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, No. 7, Chungshan S. Rd, Taipei, 100225, Taiwan. dingchengchan@ntu.edu.tw.

Abstract

Background: Given the inconsistent findings of the association between frailty and sedentary behavior in older adults, this cross-sectional study investigated the aforementioned association using four different frailty criteria and two sedentary behavior indices in older adults.

Methods: Data from older adults (age ≥ 65 y) who participated in health examinations or attended outpatient integrated clinics at a medical center in Taipei, Taiwan, were collected. Frailty was measured using the modified Fried Frailty Phenotype (mFFP), Clinical Frailty Scale in Chinese Translation (CFS-C), Study of Osteoporotic Fractures (SOF) index, and Clinical Frailty-Deficit Count (CF-DC) index; sedentary behavior was assessed with a waist-worn accelerometer. Adjusted linear regression ascertained the association between frailty and both sedentary behavior outcomes.

Results: Among the 214 participants (mean age 80.82 ± 7.14 y), 116 were women. The average total sedentary time and number of sedentary bouts were 609.74 ± 79.29 min and 5.51 ± 2.09 times per day, respectively. Frail participants had a longer total sedentary time (odds ratio [OR]: 30.13, P = .01 and 39.43, P < .001) and more sedentary bouts (OR: 3.50 and 5.86, both P < .001) on mFFP and CFS-C assessments, respectively. The SOF index revealed more sedentary bouts among frail than in robust participants (OR: 2.06, P = .009), without a significant difference in the total sedentary time. Frail participants defined by the CF-DC index were more likely to have frequent sedentary bouts (OR: 2.03, P = .016), but did not have a longer total sedentary time.

Conclusions: Regardless of the frailty criteria adopted, frailty was positively associated with the number of sedentary bouts per day in older adults. A significant correlation between frailty and total sedentary time was detected only with mFFP and CFS-C indices. Further research may target decreasing the sedentary bouts in older adults as a strategy to improve frailty.

Keywords: Accelerometer; Frailty; Older adults; Sedentary behavior.

Grants and funding

MOST109-2410-H845-037-MY2/Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan