The Association between Frequency of Social Contact and Frailty in Older People: Korean Frailty and Aging Cohort Study (KFACS)
Journal of Korean Medical Science
; : e332-2018.
Article
in English
| WPRIM (Western Pacific)
| ID: wpr-718405
Responsible library:
WPRO
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
The trend of aging society is occurring globally, and with it, one of the health problems that is emerging is frailty. Efforts are being made to account for the increasing prevalence of frailty, and various modifiable factors are being considered in regards to frailty. Because social contact has shown beneficial effects in terms of health in previous studies, it is increasingly being considered in relation to frailty. The purpose of this study was to assess the association of different types of social contact with frailty status.METHODS:
A total of 1,200 Korean elders aged 70–84 years old were included in the study. Using Fried's Cardiovascular Health Study index to categorize the frailty status, the relationship between frailty status and frequency of contact (i.e., with family members, friends, or neighbors) was analyzed using multinomial logistic regression accounting for confounders.RESULTS:
Adjusting for all covariates, frequency of contact with friends was the most statistically significant. Less frequent contact was associated with a significantly higher odds of pre-frailty monthly (odds ratio [OR], 2.02; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.27–3.20), and rarely (OR, 1.87; 95% CI, 1.17–2.99), with daily contact group as reference. Also, those contacting friends monthly (OR, 5.04; 95% CI, 2.29–11.08) or rarely (OR, 3.23; 95% CI, 1.58–6.61) were more likely to be frail compared to the daily group.CONCLUSION:
Frequency of social contact, especially with friends, is strongly associated with frailty.
Full text:
Available
Database:
WPRIM (Western Pacific)
Main subject:
Aging
/
Logistic Models
/
Prevalence
/
Cohort Studies
/
Frail Elderly
/
Friends
Type of study:
Etiology study
/
Incidence study
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Observational study
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Prevalence study
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Prognostic study
/
Risk factors
Limits:
Aged
/
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
Journal of Korean Medical Science
Year:
2018
Document type:
Article