Abstract
BackgroundFrailty and cognitive impairment are significant problems faced by older adults, which have a significant impact on their activities of daily living, social activities, and quality of life.DesignCross-sectional study.MethodsA total of 252 older adults in two communities in Yangzhou were randomly selected. The cognitive function of the elderly was assessed using the Memory and Executive Screening (MES). The frailty phenotype was used to evaluate the frail situation of older adults. The activity of daily living (ADL), functional activities questionnaire (FAQ), and European quality of 5-dimensions (EQ-5D) were used to evaluate health outcomes in the elderly. SEM was used to explore the direct and indirect relationship among cognitive function, frailty and health outcomes.ResultsThere was a significant direct correlation between cognitive function and frailty; the direct effect was −0.521. The influence path of cognitive function on health outcomes included direct and indirect effects; the total effect was −0.759. The effect of frailty on health outcomes included direct and indirect effects; the total effect was 0.440.ConclusionAccording to SEM, cognitive function interacts with frailty and may reduce the quality of life, the ADL, and social activities among older adults directly and indirectly, so future assessments of older adults should consider both cognitive function and frailty, so as to further improve the health outcome of the elderly. When formulating relevant intervention measures in the future, we need to consider that it cannot only improve the cognitive function, but also improve the frail situation, so as to jointly improve the health outcomes of older adults.
Highlights
By the end of 2018 the population ≥ 60 years of age in China accounted for 17.90% of the total population, indicating that the degree of aging in China is on the rise (National Bureau of Statistics of China, 2019)
Based on the assessment of cognitive function, frailty, and health outcomes of the elderly in the communities, it was shown that there is a huge range of scores in the assessment of them
Cognitive function interacts with frailty and may reduce the quality of life, the ADL, and social activities among the elderly
Summary
By the end of 2018 the population ≥ 60 years of age in China accounted for 17.90% of the total population, indicating that the degree of aging in China is on the rise (National Bureau of Statistics of China, 2019). Cognitive impairment and frailty are the most common geriatric syndromes in older adults, which pose a major threat to them, as reflected in the Cognitive Impairment and Frailty aggravation of disability, a decline in the quality of life, and an increase in mortality (Fabrício et al, 2020). Older adults with frailty have a reduced ability to cope with acute diseases, and have a correspondingly increased risk of falls, disability and death (Fried et al, 2001). The study found that the risk of death, hospitalization, disability and fall in older adults with frailty was 1.7–4.4 times higher than those without frailty (Zheng et al, 2016). Frailty and cognitive impairment are significant problems faced by older adults, which have a significant impact on their activities of daily living, social activities, and quality of life
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