Physical and Psychosocial Frailty Indicators as Predictors of Oral Frailty in Community-Dwelling Older Women.

Abstract

Objectives: With the growing older population, oral and general frailty have increased. This study aims to examine the association and predictive role of physical and psychosocial frailty indicators in oral frailty among older Korean women.

Methods: In total, 334 women aged 65 years or older participated in the 2017 health survey of the Korean Social Life, Health, and Aging Project on Ganghwa Island, Korea. We assessed oral frailty, including masticatory dysfunction, dysphagia, oral dryness and the number of remaining teeth. Oral frailty was categorised using cutoff values from 1 to 4. Physical frailty was assessed using appendicular skeletal muscle mass (ASMM), handgrip strength, physical performance and body mass index (BMI). Psychosocial frailty was evaluated based on the Mini-Mental State Examination for Dementia Screening (MMSE-DS), feelings of loneliness, living alone, and reduced social activity.

Results: Individuals with oral frailty (≥ 3 indicators) showed adjusted odds ratios of 0.62 for the ASMM (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.49-0.92), 0.91 for the BMI (95% CI 0.84-0.98), 0.90 for the MMSE-DS (95% CI 0.82-0.98) and 3.202 for loneliness (95% CI 1.40-7.35). The AUC values were greater than 0.7, with oral frailty (≥ 3 indicators) showing the highest Youden index, ranging from 0.12 to 0.32.

Discussion: Physical and psychosocial frailty showed strong predictive ability for oral frailty, suggesting that declines in overall function and health are closely associated with deteriorating oral function in older adults. These findings highlight the importance of a multidisciplinary approach to address the complex interrelationship between systemic frailty and oral health.