Association between Frailty, Locomotive Syndrome, and Participation Frequency in a Long-Term Care Prevention Program among Community-Dwelling Japanese Older Adults: A Sex-Specific Analysis.

Background: To examine the association between participation frequency in the long-term care prevention program and frailty and locomotive syndrome (LS), stratified by sex.

Methods: A total of 486 older adults residing in City A, Tochigi Prefecture, were included in this study. The participants were categorized into three groups based on the frequency of participation in the long-term care prevention program: low participation, medium participation, and high participation groups. Frailty was assessed using the Questionnaire for Medical Checkup of Old-Old (QMCOO), and LS was assessed using the 5-question Geriatric Locomotive Function Scale (GLFS-5). Frailty and LS were compared separately for men and women in three groups. Additionally, a binomial logistic regression analysis was conducted to examine the association between non-frailty and participation frequency in men.

Results: A total of 141 participants (29.0%) were classified as having frailty, and 160 (32.9%) met the criteria for LS. Intergroup comparisons showed significant differences in frailty prevalence, QMCOO Q1, and Q5, and LS total GLFS-5 score and GLFS-5 Q3, Q4, and Q5 in men. In contrast, intergroup item comparisons showed no significant differences in women. High participation was associated with non-frailty in men across all models in the binomial logistic regression analysis.

Conclusions: For men, a higher frequency of participation in the long-term care prevention program was suggested to be associated not only with frailty but also with components of LS. These findings highlight the importance of promoting social participation among men, maintaining social participation among women, and adopting sex-specific approaches within community settings.