Association of visceral fat area with pre-frailty in Japanese community-dwelling older adults: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

BackgroundScreening and intervention in pre-frailty can help prevent or delay frailty among older adults. Being overweight has shown associated with pre-frailty, and overweight is highly prevalent among community-dwelling older adults during COVID-19. However, the impact of visceral fat accumulation remains unclear. This study aimed to explore the association between visceral fat area and pre-frailty in community-dwelling older adults.MethodsThe participants of this study included community-dwelling older adults from three elderly welfare centers. The frailty phenotype was assessed using the frailty screening index. The body composition was measured using bioelectrical impedance analysis.ResultsA total of 214 community-dwelling older adults completed the questionnaire and measurements. After excluding 16 frail participants, 149 (75.3%) were pre-frailty. The mean age of participants was 75.4 ± 5.4 years, and 69.7% (138) of participants were women. There were 54 (27.3%) participants with high visceral fat area. The multivariable model showed that participants with high visceral fat area were at increased risk for pre-frailty (adjusted OR, 3.15; 95% CI, 1.26 − 7.87; P = 0.014), even after adjusted for age, sex, health status, and impact of COVID-19 pandemic.ConclusionsThis study suggests that the association between visceral fat accumulation and pre-frailty may help to identify a new target for prevention. Further longitudinal studies are needed to determine their mechanisms in older adults.