The relationship between frailty and motor function among living in the community elderly females.
Hiromi Owada, Atsushi Otomo, Yuji Suzuki and 3 others
PMID 36628139WHAT IT FOUND
Among 67 older women in community exercise salons, frailty was common, and women with frailty had weaker grip, slower walking and longer chair-to-walk-to-chair times.
Depression, physical function and oral function were most strongly related to frailty.
Key findings
0131.3% of the 67 women were classified as frailty, 31.3% as pre-frailty, and 37.3% as robust.
02Women classified as frailty had lower grip strength (19.6 ± 4.8 kg), slower walking (median 0.8 m/s) and longer Timed Up and Go time (median 8.4 s) than robust women (24.3 ± 4.8 kg; 1.2 m/s; 6.3 s).
03Depression, physical function and oral function were the KCL subscores identified as influencing frailty in the regression model.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The study was cross-sectional, so it can show associations between frailty, mobility and checklist scores, but cannot show that frailty caused mobility decline or that depression, physical function or oral function caused frailty. Only 67 women were analysed, and the authors noted a limited number of people surveyed and small sample size. Participants were women already attending community health salons, so results may not apply to older adults who do not attend, are housebound, or live in other areas. Men and people with implanted pacemakers were excluded, and three participants had missing data, so findings apply to this selected group. The sample was female only and had a mean age of 76.2 ± 7.7 years, so it does not tell us about men or younger older adults.
Declared interests
The authors reported no conflicts of interest to disclose.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that frailty here is explained by low muscle mass. Skeletal muscle mass index and muscle mass of the lower limbs, upper limbs and trunk did not differ significantly among the robust, pre-frailty and frailty groups, while grip strength, walking speed and Timed Up and Go time did.