Awareness of the term “frailty” and its correlates among older adults living in a metropolitan area

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  • SEINO Satoshi
    Research Team for Social Participation and Community Health, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology
  • KITAMURA Akihiko
    Research Team for Social Participation and Community Health, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology
  • TOMINE Yui
    Research Team for Social Participation and Community Health, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology
  • TANAKA Izumi
    Research Team for Social Participation and Community Health, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology
  • NISHI Mariko
    Research Team for Social Participation and Community Health, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology
  • NOFUJI Yu
    Research Team for Social Participation and Community Health, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology
  • YOKOYAMA Yuri
    Research Team for Social Participation and Community Health, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology
  • NONAKA Kumiko
    Research Team for Social Participation and Community Health, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology
  • KURAOKA Masataka
    Research Team for Social Participation and Community Health, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology
  • AMANO Hidenori
    Research Team for Social Participation and Community Health, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology
  • FUJIWARA Yoshinori
    Research Team for Social Participation and Community Health, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology
  • SHINKAI Shoji
    Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology

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Other Title
  • 大都市在住高齢者のフレイルの認知度とその関連要因
  • ダイトシ ザイジュウ コウレイシャ ノ フレイル ノ ニンチド ト ソノ カンレン ヨウイン

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<p>Objectives　This study aimed to examine the awareness of the term “frailty” and its correlates among older adults living in a Japanese metropolitan area.</p><p>Methods　We used baseline and 2-year follow-up data from a community-wide intervention on preventing frailty in Ota City, Tokyo. In July 2016, we conducted a self-administered questionnaire survey via mail to investigate the lifestyle and health status of 15,500 non-disabled residents aged 65-84 years from all 18 districts. In July 2018, we investigated the awareness of the term “frailty” in the same sample using a different questionnaire, and 10,228 people (4,977 men and 5,251 women) were included in the analyses. In addition, 9,069 people (4,347 men and 4,722 women) who responded to both 2016 and 2018 surveys were analyzed for correlates of awareness of the term “frailty.” We categorized the responses “I know the meaning” or “I have heard of it but do not know the meaning” as awareness of the term. Decision tree and multilevel Poisson regression analyses were performed to examine the association of the following with awareness of “frailty”: age, marital status, living situation, education, equivalent income, body mass index, number of chronic diseases, alcohol consumption, smoking status, Dietary Variety Score (DVS), and presence or absence of lower back and knee pains, depressive mood, exercise habits, social activity, social isolation, and frailty.</p><p>Results　Awareness of the term “frailty” was estimated as 20.1% in total (15.5% in men and 24.3% in women). The subgroup with the highest “frailty” awareness was women who exercised, were socially active, and had a DVS of 4 or more (awareness of 36.3%). Significant independent correlates of “frailty” awareness were age (as per year: multivariate-adjusted prevalence ratio=1.03, [95% confidence interval=1.02-1.04]), sex (women: 1.35 [1.21-1.51]), educational attainment (high school: 1.27 [1.11-1.45], higher than junior college/vocational schools: 1.47 [1.28-1.70]), equivalent income (more than 2.5 million yen/year: 1.12 [1.01-1.25]), exercise habits (presence: 1.26 [1.11-1.43]), DVS (6 points or more: 1.37 [1.21-1.55]), social activity (presence: 1.33 [1.20-1.49]), social isolation (presence: 0.75 [0.67-0.85]), and frailty (presence: 0.72 [0.62-0.84]).</p><p>Conclusions　Although many policies refer to “frailty,” the level of awareness of the term among older adults was low. Older adults, especially women, who had higher socioeconomic status, better exercise and dietary habits, and stronger social connections, were significantly more aware of the term. In contrast, individuals who were socially isolated and/or frail did not know the term. Thus, it is crucial to develop specific measures to promote frailty prevention among high-risk individuals.</p>

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