Validity of a simple self-reported questionnaire "Eleven-Check" for screening of frailty in Japanese community-dwelling older adults: Kashiwa cohort study.

PURPOSE

Frailty was indicated to be closely related to older adults' lifestyles, especially in nutrition-related factors (such as balanced diet and oral functions), physical factors, and social factors in our previous study. Here, we developed an "Eleven-Check" (EC) questionnaire containing the aforementioned three factors. This study tested whether the EC questionnaire can estimate frailty in community-dwelling older adults.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The study sample comprised 1,523 independent older adults. The primary outcome of frailty was assessed using the Cardiovascular Health Study index. The secondary outcome of sarcopenia was assessed by the criteria of the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia 2019. The EC questionnaire comprised 11 dichotomous factors related to nutrition-related (diet and oral functions), physical, and social factors.

RESULTS

Frailty prevalence was 8.5 % (76.1 ± 5.8y, 45.1 % women). The accuracy of the EC questionnaire for frailty was optimal when the total scores of 4/5 were used as the threshold. Compared to the low-risk group (<5), the high-risk group (≥5) had a significant association between frailty with an adjusted odds ratio (aOR) of 4.68 (95 %CI, 3.10-7.05). Moreover, the high-risk group also had a significant association with sarcopenia, with an aOR of 1.82 (1.27-2.61).

CONCLUSIONS

For community-dwelling older adults, the EC questionnaire was able to simply screen frailty and sarcopenia status. Further, it might raise older adults' self-awareness from a multifaceted perspective in their daily life to prevent steady decline and frailty sustainably in a community setting.