BackgroundThe trend of aging society is occurring globally, and with it, one of the health problems that is emerging is frailty. Efforts are being made to account for the increasing prevalence of frailty, and various modifiable factors are being considered in regards to frailty. Because social contact has shown beneficial effects in terms of health in previous studies, it is increasingly being considered in relation to frailty. The purpose of this study was to assess the association of different types of social contact with frailty status.MethodsA total of 1,200 Korean elders aged 70–84 years old were included in the study. Using Fried's Cardiovascular Health Study index to categorize the frailty status, the relationship between frailty status and frequency of contact (i.e., with family members, friends, or neighbors) was analyzed using multinomial logistic regression accounting for confounders.ResultsAdjusting for all covariates, frequency of contact with friends was the most statistically significant. Less frequent contact was associated with a significantly higher odds of pre-frailty: monthly (odds ratio [OR], 2.02; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.27–3.20), and rarely (OR, 1.87; 95% CI, 1.17–2.99), with daily contact group as reference. Also, those contacting friends monthly (OR, 5.04; 95% CI, 2.29–11.08) or rarely (OR, 3.23; 95% CI, 1.58–6.61) were more likely to be frail compared to the daily group.ConclusionFrequency of social contact, especially with friends, is strongly associated with frailty.

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This study aimed to evaluate the association between dental implants and cognitive function in community-dwelling older adults. Methods: Data were collected from the baseline survey (2016-2017) of the Korean Frailty and Aging Cohort Study. The study sample comprised 1115 community-dwelling people aged 70 years to 84 years who had 0-19 natural teeth. Dental implants and natural teeth were identified by panoramic radiography, while the cognitive function was assessed by the Korean version of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE-KC). The association between dental implants and cognitive function was analyzed by multiple linear regression. Sensitivity analysis was performed to test for potential bias. Results: The mean number of natural teeth in the study population was 9.50 (standard deviation [SD], 6.42), and the mean MMSE-KC score was 24.93 (SD, 3.55). In the simple univariate analysis, tooth replacement, age, sex, smoking status, alcohol consumption, body mass index, osteoporosis, number of natural teeth, periodontitis, chewing discomfort, tooth-brushing frequency, education level, monthly household income, participation in economic activity, living alone, and marital status had a significant impact on the association. After adjusting for confounders, the association between dental implants and cognitive function remained significant (B, 0.85; standard error, 0.40; p<0.05). Age, body mass index, periodontitis, tooth-brushing frequency, and education level were also significantly associated with cognitive function. The results of the sensitivity analyses were consistent with those of the primary analysis. Conclusions: Dental implants were associated with cognitive function in older adults living in the community. Dental implants as tooth replacements may play a role in preserving cognitive function.