Prevalence of physical and oral frailty in geriatric patients in Kerala, India.

BACKGROUND

Physical frailty is a condition where a person has decreased physical reserve and resilience to stressors. Oral frailty, on the other hand, refers to a decline in oral function in conjunction with reductions in cognitive and physical functioning. Poor oral health, encompassing factors such as functional, physiological, psychosocial, and therapeutic aspects, can lead to physical frailty.

OBJECTIVES

Assess the prevalence of physical and oral frailty in geriatric patients attending health centres in Kerala, India.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional study.

SETTING

Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences (Kochi), Amrita Kripa Charitable Hospital (Wayanad) and Amrita Urban Health Centre in (Kaloor).

PARTICIPANTS

250 geriatric participants above 60 years.

MEASUREMENTS

The participants' physical frailty was evaluated using Fried's Frailty Phenotype, the Reported Edmonton Frail Scale, and sarcopenia screening. The assessment of oral frailty was based on several factors such as current dental status, chewing ability, tongue pressure, the Repetitive Saliva-Swallowing Test, Oral Diadokinetic rates, Xerostomia, and the Oral and Maxillofacial Index. The evaluation was using a questionnaire and clinical examination. Bivariate analysis was performed for additional variables, and multivariate analysis was utilized to examine the relationship between oral and physical frailty.

RESULTS

56 % of study participants were males, and the mean age was 68 ± 6.02 years. 34.4 % were physically frail, and the remaining were pre-frail using Fried Frailty Phenotype. 67 % showed oral frailty using the Oral and Maxillofacial Frailty Index (OMFI). Using six domains of the oral frailty status (Tanaka) showed that 74 % of individuals had an increased risk of new onset of physical frailty. In the adjusted model, individuals with mild oral frailty had lesser chances of being frail (OR = 0.509, 95 % CI = 0.274-1.946, p-value = 0.033).

CONCLUSION

The prevalence of physical frailty was 34.4 %, and oral frailty status was 74 %. The findings implied a need to include oral frailty assessments in the comprehensive general health screening for geriatric patients.