TY - JOUR
T1 - Trends in Frailty Prevalence Among Older Adults in Korea
T2 - A Nationwide Study From 2008 to 2020
AU - Kang, Min-Gu
AU - Kim, Oh Seok
AU - Hoogendijk, Emiel O.
AU - Jung, Hee-Won
N1 - Funding Information: This study was supported by a grant (2022IL0005-1) from the Asan Institute for Life Science, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea and a grant from the Korea Health Technology R&D Project through the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI), funded by the Ministry of Health & Welfare, Republic of Korea (grant number: HR20C0026). Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The Korean Academy of Medical Sciences.
PY - 2023/7/24
Y1 - 2023/7/24
N2 - BACKGROUND: We aimed to evaluate the nationwide trend of the prevalence of frailty in older adults in Korea from 2008 to 2020 to inform future geriatric healthcare policies. METHODS: The study used data of individuals aged 65 years and older from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a nationwide repeated cross-sectional survey. Frailty was defined using frailty index, classified as non-frail (frailty index ≤ 0.15), pre-frail (0.15 < frailty index ≤ 0.25), or frail (frailty index > 0.25). RESULTS: The study included 17,784 individuals, with the mean age of 72.4 and mean frailty index of 0.2. The prevalence of frailty in older adults in South Korea decreased significantly from 2008 (41.1%) to 2020 (23.1%). The decrease in the frailty index was observed in all age groups (all P < 0.05). As components of frailty index, we found that certain comorbidities, such as dyslipidemia, diabetes mellitus, and cardiovascular disease, have increased over time, while factors such as chewing difficulty, activity limitation, and smoking, have decreased. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of frailty in older adults in South Korea has decreased significantly during the study period. Historical improvements in healthcare access and preventive measures may have contributed to this trend.
AB - BACKGROUND: We aimed to evaluate the nationwide trend of the prevalence of frailty in older adults in Korea from 2008 to 2020 to inform future geriatric healthcare policies. METHODS: The study used data of individuals aged 65 years and older from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a nationwide repeated cross-sectional survey. Frailty was defined using frailty index, classified as non-frail (frailty index ≤ 0.15), pre-frail (0.15 < frailty index ≤ 0.25), or frail (frailty index > 0.25). RESULTS: The study included 17,784 individuals, with the mean age of 72.4 and mean frailty index of 0.2. The prevalence of frailty in older adults in South Korea decreased significantly from 2008 (41.1%) to 2020 (23.1%). The decrease in the frailty index was observed in all age groups (all P < 0.05). As components of frailty index, we found that certain comorbidities, such as dyslipidemia, diabetes mellitus, and cardiovascular disease, have increased over time, while factors such as chewing difficulty, activity limitation, and smoking, have decreased. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of frailty in older adults in South Korea has decreased significantly during the study period. Historical improvements in healthcare access and preventive measures may have contributed to this trend.
KW - Comorbidities
KW - Frailty
KW - Healthcare
KW - Korea
KW - Older Adults
KW - Prevalence
KW - Trend
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85165689995&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - https://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2023.38.e157
DO - https://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2023.38.e157
M3 - Article
C2 - 37489714
SN - 1598-6357
VL - 38
SP - e157
JO - Journal of Korean medical science
JF - Journal of Korean medical science
IS - 29
M1 - e157
ER -