Aim: States of vulnerability are multidimensional and become more prevalent with advancing age. These states and the causal relationships between them, merit thorough investigation. This study aimed to understand the reciprocal relationship between the constructs of the locomotive syndrome and social frailty among a community of older adults.
Methods: This 2-year cohort study examined a community of older adults (≥75 years) consisting of 1177 members. Using Makizako's method, social frailty was deemed to be present if more than two out of five questions were answered negatively. Locomotive syndrome was measured with the Geriatric Locomotive Function Scale-25, which consists of 25 items measuring an individual's risk of developing locomotive syndrome; a total score of ≥16 identified the presence of locomotive syndrome. Possible reciprocal associations between locomotive syndrome and social frailty were assessed using Cox proportional hazards analyses.
Results: A total of 748 older adults were analyzed in the following subgroups. Among 574 participants without social frailty at the baseline, the presence of locomotive syndrome at the baseline was associated with new-onset social frailty during the next 2 years, after adjusting for confounding factors (hazard ratio 1.76, 95% confidence interval 1.17-2.65). Conversely, the presence of social frailty among participants without locomotive syndrome in the baseline was not associated with new-onset locomotive syndrome.
Conclusion: The presence of locomotive syndrome was determined to be a risk factor for the onset of social frailty. Therefore, interventions that address the negative impact of locomotive syndrome are a first step toward addressing these vulnerable conditions. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2021; 21: 981-984.
Keywords: cohort study; locomotive syndrome; older adults; reciprocal relationship; social frailty.
© 2021 Japan Geriatrics Society.