Nutritional and Frailty State Transitions in the Singapore Longitudinal Aging Study

Recent developments in frailty identification, management, risk factors and prevention: A narrative review of leading journals in geriatrics and gerontology

Frailty is an age-related clinical condition characterised by an increased susceptibility to stressors and an elevated risk of adverse outcomes such as mortality. In the light of global population ageing, the prevalence of frailty is expected to soar in coming decades. This narrative review provides critical insights into recent developments and emerging practices in frailty research regarding identification, management, risk factors, and prevention. We searched journals in the top two quartiles of geriatrics and gerontology (from Clarivate Journal Citation Reports) for articles published between 01 January 2018 and 20 December 2022. Several recent developments were identified, including new biomarkers and biomarker panels for frailty screening and diagnosis, using artificial intelligence to identify frailty, and investigating the altered response to medications by older adults with frailty. Other areas with novel developments included exercise (including technology-based exercise), multidimensional interventions, person-centred and integrated care, assistive technologies, analysis of frailty transitions, risk-factors, clinical guidelines, COVID-19, and potential future treatments. This review identified a strong need for the implementation and evaluation of cost-effective, community-based interventions to manage and prevent frailty. Our findings highlight the need to better identify and support older adults with frailty and involve those with frailty in shared decision-making regarding their care.

Two-year longitudinal associations between nutritional status and frailty in community-dwelling older adults: Korean Frailty and Aging Cohort Study

BACKGROUND

Korea is expected to become a super-aged society in 2026, and improving nutritional status, which is directly related to health problems, is therefore important for increasing healthy life expectancy. Frailty is the most complex phenotype of aging, and leads to adverse health outcomes, disability, poor quality of life, hospitalization, and mortality. Malnutrition is a major risk factor for frailty syndrome. This study aimed to investigate the incidence of pre-frailty or frailty in the second wave (T2, 2018-2019) according to general characteristics and nutritional status in the first wave (T1, 2016-2017); and examine the longitudinal association of nutritional status in T1 and the incidence of pre-frailty or frailty in T2 among older adults living in a community.

METHODS

A secondary data analysis was performed using the Korean Frailty and Aging Cohort Study (KFACS). Participants comprised 1125 community-dwelling older Korean adults aged 70-84 years (mean age: 75.03 ± 3.56 years; 53.8% males). Frailty was assessed using the Fried frailty index, and nutritional status was assessed using the Korean version of the Mini Nutritional Assessment Short-Form and blood nutritional biomarkers. Binary logistic regression was used to identify longitudinal associations between the nutritional status at T1 and pre-frailty or frailty at T2.

RESULTS

Over the two-year follow-up period, 32.9% and 1.7% of the participants became pre-frail and frail, respectively. After the potential confounders were adjusted (sociodemographic, health behaviors, and health status characteristics), pre-frailty or frailty had a significant longitudinal association with severe anorexia (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 4.17; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.05-16.54), moderate anorexia (AOR, 2.31; 95% CI, 1.46-3.64), psychological stress or acute disease (AOR, 2.61; 95% CI, 1.26-5.39), and body mass index (BMI) less than 19 (AOR, 4.11; 95% CI, 1.20-14.04).

CONCLUSIONS

Anorexia, psychological stress, acute disease, and low BMI are the most significant longitudinal risk factors for pre-frailty or frailty in older adults. As nutritional risk factors may be preventable or modifiable, it is important to develop interventions targeting the same. Community-based health professionals in health-related fields should recognize and manage these indicators appropriately to prevent frailty among older adults living in the community.

Frailty knowledge level and its influencing factors among older adults in China

Raising older adults' frailty knowledge level and encouraging them to actively engage in the prevention and treatment of frailty is essential to promote healthy aging. This cross-sectional study investigated frailty knowledge level and its influencing factors in community-dwelling older adults in China. A total of 734 older adults were included in the analysis. About half of them misjudged their frailty state (42.50%), and 17.17% obtained frailty knowledge in the community. Those who were female, lived in rural areas, lived alone, had not attended school, had a monthly income <3,000RMB, were at risk for malnutrition, were depressed, and were socially isolated were more likely to have lower frailty knowledge level. Those with advanced age and pre-frailty or frailty stage were more knowledgeable about frailty. The group with the highest proportion of low frailty knowledge level was those who had never attended school or completed primary school and had loose friend ties (98.7%). It is crucial to develop tailored intervention to raise frailty knowledge level in older adults in China.

Frailty and risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality

Background

Prospective cohort studies suggest that frailty is associated with an increased risk of incident cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality, but their mechanistic and developmental relations are not fully understood. We investigated whether frailty predicted an increased risk of incident nonfatal and fatal CVD among community-dwelling older adults.

Methods

A population cohort of 5015 participants aged 55 years and above free of CVD at baseline was followed for up to 10 years. Pre-frailty and frailty were defined as the presence of 1–2 and 3–5 modified Fried criteria (unintentional weight loss, weakness, slow gait speed, exhaustion, and low physical activity), incident CVD events as newly diagnosed registered cases of myocardial infarction (MI), stroke, and CVD-related mortality (ICD 9: 390 to 459 or ICD-10: I00 to I99). Covariate measures included traditional cardio-metabolic and vascular risk factors, medication therapies, Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE), and blood biomarkers (haemoglobin, albumin, white blood cell counts and creatinine).

Results

Pre-frailty and frailty were significantly associated with elevated HR = 1.26 (95%CI: 1.02–1.56) and HR = 1.54 (95%CI:1.00–2.35) of overall CVD, adjusted for cardio-metabolic and vascular risk factors and medication therapies, but not after adjustment for GDS depression and MMSE cognitive impairment. The HR of association between frailty status and both CVD mortality and overall mortality, however, remained significantly elevated after full adjustment for depression, cognitive and blood biomarkers.

Conclusion

Frailty was associated with increased risk of CVD morbidity and especially mortality, mediated in parts by traditional cardio-metabolic and vascular risk factors, and co-morbid depression and associated cognitive impairment and chronic inflammation. Given that pre-frailty and frailty are reversible by multi-domain lifestyle and health interventions, there is potential benefits in reducing cardiovascular diseases burden and mortality from interventions targeting pre-frailty and early frailty population.

Functional mobility decline and incident mild cognitive impairment and early dementia in community-dwelling older adults: the Singapore Longitudinal Ageing Study

BACKGROUND

Motor and gait disturbances are evident in early Alzheimer and non-Alzheimer dementias and may predict the likelihood of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or progression to dementia.

OBJECTIVE

We investigated the Timed-Up-and-Go (TUG) measure of functional mobility in predicting cognitive decline and incident MCI or early dementia (MCI-dementia).

DESIGN

Prospective cohort study with 4.5 years follow-up.

SETTING

Population based.

PARTICIPANTS

2,544 community-dwelling older adults aged 55+ years.

METHODS

Participants with baseline data on TUG, fast gait speed (GS), knee extension strength (KES) and performance-oriented mobility assessment (POMA) gait and balance were followed up for cognitive decline (Mini-Mental State Exam; MMSE drop of ≥2, among 1,336 dementia-free participants) and incident MCI-dementia (among 1,208 cognitively normal participants). Odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were adjusted for age, sex, education, smoking, physical, social and productive activity, multi-morbidity, metabolic syndrome and MMSE.

RESULTS

Per standard deviation increase in TUG, POMA, GS and KES were significantly associated with incident MCI-dementia: TUG (OR = 2.84, 95% CI = 2.02-3.99), GS (OR = 2.17, 95% CI = 1.62-2.91), POMA (OR = 1.88, 95% CI = 1.22-2.92) and KES (OR = 1.52, 95% CI = 1.15-2.02). Adjusted OR remained significant only for TUG (OR = 1.52, 95% CI = 1.01-2.31) and GS (OR = 1.53, 95% CI = 1.08-2.16). Areas under the curve (AUC) for TUG (AUC = 0.729, 95% CI = 0.671-0.787) were significantly greater than GS (AUC = 0.683, 95% CI = 0.619-0.746), KES (AUC = 0.624, 95% CI = 0.558-0.689) and POMA (AUC = 0.561, 95% CI = 0.485-0.637). Similar associations with cognitive decline were significant though less pronounced, and adjusted ORs remained significant for TUG, GS and POMA.

CONCLUSION

Functional mobility decline precedes incident MCI and early dementia. The TUG appears to be especially accurate in predicting the future risks of adverse cognitive outcomes.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03405675. Registered 23 January 2018 (retrospectively registered).

The Impact of Nutrition on Cognitive Performance in a Frail Elderly Population Living in Northern Italy

Objectives: There is increasing evidence for a protective role of nutritional factors on cognitive decline. Many studies have reported a preventive effect of specific dietary patterns, in particular of the Mediterranean diet (MD), on the risk of cognitive decline, but only limited evidence is available about its effects on neuropsychological performance. The aim of this work is to evaluate the relationship between nutrition and cognitive performance in a frail elderly population living in Northern Italy. Methods: In this study we have investigated the impact of the Mediterranean dietary pattern on cognitive performance in a frail elderly population (n = 140). Structural equation modeling was applied to highlight the interrelationship between three cognitive domains: i) Verbal Fluency; ii) Attention/executive function; iii) Memory, and two MD factors: i) Nutrition; ii) Anthropometric/physical activity. In addition, the Multiple Correspondence Analysis was performed to detect the food and nutrients with the highest association with MD and nutritional status. Results: In our sample, 54% of subjects have a medium-high adherence to MD and only 4% have a risk of malnutrition. The variable Nutrition was significantly associated (p < 0.001) with the cognitive domain Attention/executive function, with an increase in Nutrition directly associated with a better performance in Attention/executive function. Conclusions: This study provides preliminary evidence of an association between good nutritional status, related to a high adherence to the MD, and cognitive performance in a non-clinical elderly population living in Northern Italy.

Functional health index of intrinsic capacity: multi-domain operationalisation and validation in the Singapore Longitudinal Ageing Study (SLAS2)

BACKGROUND

ad hoc approaches are used to create composite indexes of intrinsic capacity (IC) based on five domains recommended by the World Health Organization for healthy ageing. We examined how combinations of domain-specific measures determine measurement performances of composite IC indexes.

METHODS

in this population-based prospective cohort study, community-dwelling older persons (N = 2,906) aged 55 years and above were recruited. We used 12 domain-specific measures: cognition (Mini-Mental State Examination, MMSE), psychological (Geriatric Depression Scale, GDS), locomotion (Timed Up-and Go [TUG], GV, Knee Extension Strength, Performance Orientated Mobility Assessment), sensory (logarithm of the Minimum Angle of Resolution [LogMAR] vision and Whisper Test hearing) and vitality (forced expiratory volume in 1 second pulmonary function, Elderly Nutritional Indicators for Geriatric Malnutrition Assessment [ENIGMA], Nutritional Screening Initiative) to derive 144 composite 2- to 5-domain functional health indexes (FHI), and evaluated their abilities to predict 9-year mortality and their associations with health determinants.

RESULTS

with 5-domain FHI, TUG, logMAR and MMSE showed the largest factor loadings (0.65-0.75). All single-domain FHI were significantly associated with mortality risks. Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) values of mortality prediction increased with the number of domains (from mean 0.615 for single-domain FHI to mean 0.705 for 5-domain FHI), but the difference between 3-domain versus 4-domain FHI (P = 0.082) or versus 5-domain FHI (P = 0.109) was not statistically significant. Highest AUCs (P < 0.001) of best performing FHI were single-domain TUG: 0.735; 2-domain TUG + ENIGMA: 0.743; 3-domain TUG + LogMAR + ENIGMA: 0.762; 4-domain TUG + MMSE + LogMAR + ENIGMA: 0.757; 5-domain TUG + MMSE + GDS + LogMAR + ENIGMA: 0.751. FHI showed excellent construct validity based on correlations with known health determinants.

CONCLUSIONS

among Singaporean older adults, cognition, sensory and locomotion are predominant IC domains. A multi-domain IC index performs better with more domain measures, but a minimalist 3-domain index performs just as robustly as a 4- or 5-domain index.

Secondhand smoke is positively associated with pre-frailty and frailty in non-smoking older adults

INTRODUCTION

Either exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) or frailty has been linked to adverse health outcomes in nonsmoking adults. However, their relationship is rarely studied. The purpose of this study is to examine the association between serum cotinine level and frailty status among non-smoking older adults.

METHOD

The study population consisted of 2,703 older adults aged ≥60 from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2011-2014. Non-smokers were included based on (1) a serum cotinine level ≤ 10 ng/mL and 2) a response of "no" to the question, "Do you currently smoke?" Frailty status was measured based on the Fried Phenotype and had three groups- robust, pre-frailty, and frailty. Multinomial logistic regression models were constructed to examine the association between serum cotinine level quartile and frailty status, controlling for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, depressive symptoms, alcohol use, and systolic blood pressure.

RESULTS

About half of the participants (median age 70.0 years, range 64-78) were female (53.6%), non-Hispanic White (48.3%), and completed some college and above (50.1%). Multinomial logistic regression with a reference group being those in the 1^st quantile (the lowest) of serum cotinine level showed that participants in the 4^th quartile (the highest) of serum cotinine level had increased odds of pre-frailty vs. robust (OR 1.522, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.060, 2.185, P = 0.023) as well as increased odds of frailty vs. robust (OR 2.349, 95% CI 1.081, 5.107, P = 0.031).

CONCLUSIONS

Higher serum cotinine level is associated with increased risk of pre-frailty and frailty versus robust in non-smoking older adults. Prevention and reduction of SHS in older adults may help protect them from developing pre-frailty or frailty.

Adult malnutrition, nutritional interventions and outcomes in Singapore: a scoping review of local studies for the past 20 years

Background:

There is currently no review published on the prevalence and incidence of malnutrition in Singapore across various populations, or what interventions or policies are in place for preventing/treating malnutrition.

Objectives:

This review aims to determine the: (a) incidence and prevalence of malnutrition in the community, and in acute, intermediate and long-term care facilities; (b) interventions implemented for screening, assessing and treating/preventing malnutrition; (c) specific clinical populations investigated for malnutrition or nutritional therapy; and (d) implications of malnutrition and effectiveness of treating malnutrition or using nutritional therapy in Singapore.

Methods:

A structured search strategy was applied to available electronic databases (MEDLINE/PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, the Cochrane Library and Google Scholar) using selected search terms, with additional reports and grey literature identified using iterative searches.

Results:

Forty-two articles were found, with the majority of research performed in the community and acute care settings. Malnutrition screening and assessment is the most common nutritional research performed in Singapore. Approximately 14.7% to 65.0% of acute care and 2.8% to 31.5% of community populations are found to be malnourished. Limited interventional and economic-related studies are available.

Conclusion:

Malnutrition rates in Singapore appear to be similar to other developed countries. Future studies will need to focus on nutritional intervention, cost-effectiveness analyses and specific populations such as the underprivileged, chronically ill and those dependent on nutritional support.

Development and Validation of a Nomogram to Predict Frailty Progression in Nonfrail Chinese Community-Living Older Adults

OBJECTIVE

Frailty state progression is common among older adults, so it is necessary to identify predictors to implement individualized interventions. We aimed to develop and validate a nomogram to predict frailty progression in community-living older adults.

DESIGN

Prospective cohort study.

SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS

A total of 3170 Chinese community-living people aged ≥60 years were randomly assigned to a training set or validation set at a ratio of 6:4.

METHODS

Candidate predictors (demographic, lifestyle, and medical characteristics) were used to predict frailty state progression as measured with the Fried frailty phenotype at a 4-year follow-up, and multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted to develop a nomogram, which was validated internally with 1000 bootstrap resamples and externally with the use of a validation set. The C index and calibration plot were used to assess discrimination and calibration of the nomogram, respectively.

RESULTS

After a follow-up period of 4 years, 64.1% (917/1430) of the participants in the robust group and 26.0% (453/1740) in the prefrail group experienced frailty progression, which included 9.1% and 21.0%, respectively, who progressed to frailty. Predictors in the final nomogram were age, marital status, physical exercise, baseline frailty state, and diabetes. Based on this nomogram, an online calculator was also developed for easy use. The discriminative ability was good in the training set (C index = 0.861) and was validated using both the internal bootstrap method (C index = 0.861) and an external validation set (C index = 0.853). The calibration plots showed good agreement in both the training and validation sets.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

An easy-to-use nomogram was developed with good apparent performance using 5 readily available variables to help physicians and public health practitioners to identify older adults at high risk for frailty progression and implement medical interventions.

Subclinical vasculopathy and skeletal muscle metrics in the singapore longitudinal ageing study

Frailty is associated with future cardiovascular events in older adults. This cross-sectional study examined the relationship between subclinical vasculopathy with measures of skeletal muscle mass and function. Asymptomatic community-dwelling Asians ≥55 years underwent assessments for subclinical vasculopathy (carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT), aortic and carotid stiffness, and endothelial function), muscle mass (calf circumference adjusted for body mass index) and function (knee extension strength, 6-meter fast gait speed). Multivariable regression analyses for associates of muscle mass/function controlled for demographics and cardiometabolic risk factors. Among 336 participants (median age 62 years, 55.1% male, 3.6% sarcopenia), cIMT, aortic and carotid stiffness inversely correlated with muscle mass, strength and gait speed; cIMT remained independently associated with gait speed (β=-0.26) in multivariable analyses. Age and sex significantly modified the relationship between subclinical vasculopathy and muscle mass/function. Associations, only found in those aged ≥70, included cIMT with gait speed (β=-0.48) and knee strength (β=-9.33), and aortic augmentation index and aortic stiffness composite z-score with gait speed (β=-0.11 and β=-0.19 respectively). Among males, cIMT correlated with gait speed (β=-0.31). The association of subclinical vasculopathy with skeletal muscle mass and function in asymptomatic adults ≥55 years is best reflected by cIMT. The roles of mediating pathways deserve further evaluation.

How gait influences frailty models and health-related outcomes in clinical-based and population-based studies: a systematic review

Aging is often associated with a decline in physical function that eventually leads to loss of autonomy in activities of daily living (ADL). Walking is a very common ADL, important for main determinants of quality of life in older age, and it requires the integration of many physiological systems. Gait speed has been described as the 'sixth vital sign' because it is a core indicator of health and function in aging and disease. We reviewed original studies up to June 2020 that assessed frailty in both longitudinal and cross-sectional observational studies, paying particular attention to how gait is measured in older population and how the gait parameter adopted may influence the estimated frailty models and the health-related outcomes of the various studies (i.e. clinical, cognitive, physical, and nutritional outcomes). Eighty-five studies met the search strategy and were included in the present systematic review. According to the frailty tools, more than 60% of the studies used the physical phenotype model proposed by Fried and colleagues, while one-third referred to multi-domain indexes or models and only 5% referred to other single-domain frailty models (social or cognitive). The great heterogeneity observed in gait measurements and protocols limited the possibility to directly compare the results of the studies and it could represent an important issue causing variability in the different outcome measures in both clinical-and population-based settings. Gait appeared to be an indicator of health and function also in frail older adults, and different gait parameters appeared to predict adverse health-related outcomes in clinical, cognitive, and physical domains and, to a lesser extent, in nutritional domain. Gait has the potential to elucidate the common basic mechanisms of cognitive and motor decline. Advances in technology may extend the validity of gait in different clinical settings also in frail older adults, and technology-based assessment should be encouraged. Combining various gait parameters may enhance frailty prediction and classification of different frailty phenotypes.

Nutritional Assessment in Older Adults : MNA® 25 years of a Screening Tool and a Reference Standard for Care and Research; What Next?

A tool to assess nutritional status in older persons was really needed. It took 5 years to design the MNA® (Mini Nutrition Assessment) tool, complete the first validations studies both in Europe and in the U.S. and to publish it. After the full MNA®, the MNA® short form and the self-MNA® have been validated. As well as Chinese and other national MNA® forms. Now more than 2000 clinical research have used the MNA® all over the world from community care to hospital. At least 22 Expert groups included the MNA® in new clinical practice guidelines, national or international registries. The MNA® is presently included in almost all geriatric and nutrition textbook and part of the teaching program for medicine and other health care professional worldwide. The urgent need is to target the frail older adults more likely to have weight loss and poor appetite and to prevent frailty and weight loss in the robust. We present in this paper the review of 25 years of clinical research and practice using the MNA® worldwide.

Risk Factors of Progression to Frailty: Findings from the Singapore Longitudinal Ageing Study

OBJECTIVES

To investigate risk factors of incident physical frailty.

DESIGN

A population-based observational longitudinal study.

SETTING

Community-dwelling elderly with age 55 years and above recruited from 2009 through 2011 in the second wave Singapore Longitudinal Ageing Study-2 (SLAS-2) were followed up 3-5 years later.

PARTICIPANTS

A total of 1297 participants, mean age of 65.6 ±0.19, who were free of physical frailty.

MEASUREMENTS

Incident frailty defined by three or more criteria of the physical phenotype used in the Cardiovascular Health Study was determined at follow-up. Potential risk factors assessed at baseline included demographic, socioeconomic, medical, psychological factors, and biochemical markers.

RESULTS

A total of 204 (15.7%) participants, including 81 (10.87%) of the robust and 123 (22.28%) of the prefrail transited to frailty at follow-up. Age, no education, MMSE score, diabetes, prediabetes and diabetes, arthritis, ≥5 medications, fair and poor self-rated health, moderate to high nutritional risk (NSI ≥3), Hb (g/dL), CRP (mg/L), low B12, low folate, albumin (g/L), low total cholesterol, adjusted for sex, age and education, were significantly associated (p<0.05) with incident frailty. In stepwise selection models, age (year) (OR=1.07, 95%CI=1.03-1.10, p<0.001), albumin (g/L) (OR=0.85, 95%CI=0.77-0.94, p=0.002), MMSE score (OR=0.88, 95%CI=0.78-0.98, p=0.02), low folate (OR=3.72, 95%CI=1.17-11.86, p=0.03, and previous hospitalization (OR=2.26, 95%CI=1.01-5.04,p=0.05) were significantly associated with incident frailty.

CONCLUSIONS

The study revealed multiple modifiable risk factors, especially related to poor nutrition, for which preventive measures and early management could potentially halt or delay the development of frailty.

Frailty state among Indonesian elderly: prevalence, associated factors, and frailty state transition

Background

Information about frailty status and its transition is important to inform clinical decisions. Predicting frailty transition is beneficial for its prevention. While Indonesia is the 4th largest geriatric population in Asia, data about frailty transition is limited. This study aimed to obtain data on prevalence of frailty, its risk factors, frailty state transition and its prognostic factors, as well as to develop prognostic score for frailty state transition.

Methods

Multicenter study on subjects aged ≥60 years old was done to obtain the prevalence of frailty status and to identify risk factors of frailty. Prospective cohort over 12 months was done to obtain data on frailty state transition. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to identify its prognostic factors from several clinical data, which then were utilized to develop prognostic score for frailty state worsening.

Results

Cross-sectional data from 448 subjects showed that 25.2% of the subjects were frail based on Frailty index-40 items. Risk factors of frailty were age (OR 2.72; 95% CI 1.58–4.76), functional status (OR 2.89; 95% CI 1.79–4.67), and nutritional status (OR 3.75; 95% CI 2.29–6.13). Data from the 162 subjects who completed the cohort showed 27.2% of the cohort had frailty state worsening. Prognostic factors for frailty state worsening were being 70 years or older (OR 3.9; 95% CI 1.2–12.3, p < 0.05), negative QoL, i.e., fair and poor QoL (OR 2.5; 95% CI 1.1–5.9, p < 0.05), and slow gait speed (OR 2.8; 95% CI 1.3–6.4, p < 0.05). The internal validation of the prognostic score consisted of those three variables showed good performance.

Conclusion

The prevalence of frailty in this study among Indonesian elderly in outpatient setting was 25.2%. The risk factors of frailty were age, functional status and nutritional status. The prognostic factors for frailty state worsening were being 70 years old or older, negative QoL (fair or poor quality of life), and slow gait speed. A prognostic score to predict frailty state worsening in 12 months had been developed.