Independent and Combined Relationships of Perceived Neighborhood Social Cohesion and Physical Frailty on Functional Disability in Community-Dwelling Older Adults.

Boqin Xie,Junqiao Wang,Chenjuan Ma

doi:10.3390/ijerph17165912

Abstract

Functional disability and physical frailty (PF) are debilitating geriatric conditions. Previous studies have suggested both perceived neighborhood social cohesion (PNSC) and PF can influence functional disability and may have an interactive effect too. This cross-sectional study aims to examine the independent and combined relationships of PF and PNSC on functional disability in community-dwelling older adults in Shanghai, China. A total of 1616 older adults aged ≥ 75 years were recruited using multistage sampling. Results showed that prefrailty, frailty (using the modified frailty phenotype criteria), and low PNSC (measured by the Neighborhood Cohesion Scale) were independently associated with increased likelihood of functional disability after adjustment of covariates. To evaluate the combined relationships of PF and PNSC, participants were classified into six groups based on their levels of PF and PNSC. The probability of frail older adults with low PNSC having functional disability stood out compared with the robust older adults with high PNSC. Our findings suggest the importance of high PNSC as a protective factor of maintaining functional ability. Future longitudinal studies are needed to identify the role of PNSC in the development of functional disability among frail older adults.

Highlights

Functional disability in older adults is a worldwide public health problem
Our study found that older adults with low perceived neighborhood social cohesion (PNSC) were more likely to be have functional disability compared with older adults with high PNSC
Our estimates show a tendency of increase in the odds of functional disability between low and high PNSC groups within physical frailty categories

Summary

Introduction

Functional disability in older adults is a worldwide public health problem. It can be defined as limitations in the ability to perform daily activities that are essential to living an independent life [1].Functional disability in older adults is associated with diminished quality of life, increased healthcare costs, and high rates of institutionalism and mortality [2,3,4,5]. Functional disability in older adults is a worldwide public health problem. It can be defined as limitations in the ability to perform daily activities that are essential to living an independent life [1]. Functional disability in older adults is associated with diminished quality of life, increased healthcare costs, and high rates of institutionalism and mortality [2,3,4,5]. With a rapid growth of aging population, the number of older adults with disabilities in China increases correspondingly. The number of Chinese older adults with functional disability is estimated to reach 66 million by 2050 [7,8]. It is crucial to identify the factors associated with functional disability, especially those that are modifiable

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion