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Nutritional Status and Frailty in Community-Dwelling Older Korean Adults: The Korean Frailty and Aging Cohort Study

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The journal of nutrition, health & aging

Abstract

Objectives

To examine the association between nutritional status and frailty in older adults.

Design

Cross-sectional study.

Setting

Community-dwelling older adults were recruited from 10 study sites in South Korea.

Participants

1473 volunteers aged 70–84 years without severe cognitive impairment and who participated in the Korean Frailty and Aging Cohort Study (KFACS) conducted in 2016.

Measurements

Nutritional status was measured using the Mini Nutritional Assessment Short Form (MNA-SF). Frailty was assessed with the Fried’s frailty index. The relationship between nutritional status and frailty was examined using the multinomial regression analysis, adjusting for covariates.

Results

Of the respondents 14.3% had poor nutrition (0.8% with malnutrition, 13.5% at risk of malnutrition). There were 10.7% who were frail, with 48.5% being prefrail, and 40.8% robust. Poor nutrition was related to a significantly increased risk of being prefrail (odds ratio [OR]: 1.59, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.09–2.32) and frail (OR: 3.30, 95% CI: 1.96–5.54).

Conclusion

Poor nutritional status is strongly associated with frailty in older adults. More research to understand the interdependency between nutritional status and frailty may lead to better management of the two geriatric conditions.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Ajou University School of Medicine, 164 World cup-ro, Youngtong-gu, Suwon, 16499, Republic of Korea

    J. Kim, Yunhwan Lee, K. E. Lee & D. Chon

  2. Institute on Aging, Ajou University Medical Center, Suwon, Republic of Korea

    J. Kim, Yunhwan Lee, K. E. Lee & D. Chon

  3. Elderly Frailty Research Center, Department of Family Medicine, College of Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Republic of Korea

    C. W. Won

Authors
  1. J. Kim
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  2. Yunhwan Lee
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  3. C. W. Won
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  4. K. E. Lee
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  5. D. Chon
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yunhwan Lee.

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Kim, J., Lee, Y., Won, C.W. et al. Nutritional Status and Frailty in Community-Dwelling Older Korean Adults: The Korean Frailty and Aging Cohort Study. J Nutr Health Aging 22, 774–778 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12603-018-1005-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12603-018-1005-9

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