Association Of Objective Physical Activity With Social Frailty In Japanese Community-dwelling Older Adults

Frailty is highly prevalent in old age and is considered to pose a high risk of falls, disability, hospitalization, and mortality. Although many studies focusing on frailty among older adults have examined physical functioning, the concept of frailty includes not only physical aspects but also social aspects. Furthermore, social frailty (SF) is a risk factor for disabilities such as muscle weakness and physical frailty. These disabilities are associated with physical activity (PA). However, few studies have examined the relationship between PA and SF. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the association between PA and SF (or its components) in community-dwelling older adults. METHODS: Participants were 156 community-dwelling older Japanese males and females. Social frailty was judged on the basis of responses to five questions: “going out less frequently”, “rarely visiting friends”, “feeling unhelpful to friends or family”, “living alone”, and “not talking with someone every day”. Participants with two or more components were defined to be SF. The differences in characteristics based on social frailty category (participants without SF vs with SF) were compared using student’s t-test for continuous data, and chi-square test for categorical data. The association between physical activity and components of social frailty was analyzed using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). PA was measured objectively using an accelerometer worn for ≥10 hours per day for 3 days. Average daily durations of light-intensity PA (LPA) and moderate-to-vigorous intensity PA (MVPA), as well as the type of PA (locomotive vs. non-locomotive), were examined. RESULTS: First, social frailty was associated with the number of steps and total PA. Second, when physical activities were analyzed in detail, LPA and non-locomotive PA were significantly related to SF, but not MVPA nor locomotive PA. Finally, the question about “going out less frequently” had the greatest impact on PA among the five SF components. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that increasing PA could be one of the potential strategies for preventing or improving SF among community-dwelling older adults.