TY - JOUR PY - 2018// TI - Social frailty leads to the development of physical frailty among physically non-frail adults: a four-year follow-up longitudinal cohort study JO - International journal of environmental research and public health A1 - Makizako, Hyuma A1 - Shimada, Hiroyuki A1 - Doi, Takehiko A1 - Tsutsumimoto, Kota A1 - Hotta, Ryo A1 - Nakakubo, Sho A1 - Makino, Keitaro A1 - Lee, Sangyoon SP - e15030490 EP - e15030490 VL - 15 IS - 3 N2 - Social frailty domains may play an important role in preventing physical decline and disability. The aim of this study is to examine the impact of social frailty as a risk factor for the future development of physical frailty among community-dwelling older adults who are not yet physically frail. A total of 1226 physically non-frail older adults were analyzed to provide a baseline. Participants completed a longitudinal assessment of their physical frailty 48 months later. Their baseline social frailty was determined based on their responses to five questions, which identified participants who went out less frequently, rarely visited friends, felt less like helping friends or family, lived alone and did not talk to another person every day. Participants with none of these characteristics were considered not to be socially frail; those with one characteristic were considered socially pre-frail; and those with two or more characteristics were considered socially frail. At the four-year follow-up assessment, 24 participants (2.0%) had developed physical frailty and 440 (35.9%) had developed physical pre-frailty. The rates of developing physical frailty and pre-frailty were 1.6% and 34.2%, respectively, in the socially non-frail group; 2.4% and 38.8%, respectively, in the socially pre-frail group; and 6.8% and 54.5%, respectively, in the socially frail group. Participants classified as socially frail at the baseline had an increased risk of developing physical frailty, compared with participants who were not socially frail (OR = 3.93, 95% CI = 1.02-15.15). Participants who were socially frail at the baseline also had an increased risk of developing physical pre-frailty (OR = 2.50, 95% CI = 1.30-4.80). Among independent community-dwelling older adults who are not physically frail, those who are socially frail may be at greater risk of developing physical frailty in the near future. Social frailty may precede (and lead to the development of) physical frailty.
Language: en
LA - en SN - 1661-7827 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15030490 ID - ref1 ER -