Aim To investigate the prevalence and associated factors of cognitive frailty and cognitive frailty‐related falls in community‐dwelling older people. Methods A total of 25 out of 1192 community‐dwelling older people aged >70 years with cognitive frailty participated in the present cross‐sectional study. Cognitive function was assessed using the Mini‐Mental State Examination. Physical function measures included calf circumference, Timed Up and Go (TUG) and usual walking speed. Interviews were carried out to assess Council on Nutrition Appetite Questionnaire (CNAQ); chronic diseases including hypertension, diabetes and falls; as well as physical frailty, defined as having three of five criteria: muscle weakness, slowness, exhaustion, low activity and weight loss. Results The prevalence of cognitive frailty was 2.1%. Participants with cognitive frailty had significantly reduced Mini‐Mental State Examination and calf circumference; and higher instrumental activities of daily living disability and falls. Old age (OR 1.151, 95% CI 1.053–1.257), fall history (OR 3.577, 95% CI 1.381–9.263), having four or more chronic diseases (OR 7.419, 95% CI 2.117–26.005) and slower TUG (OR 1.234, 95% CI 1.041–1.462) were significantly associated with cognitive frailty, whereas greater calf circumference (OR 0.748, 95% CI 0.625–0.895) and CNAQ (OR 0.736, 95% CI 0.628–0.8631) had protective effects. Old age (OR 1.132, 95% CI 1.002–1.280), hospitalization (OR 10.090, 95% CI 2.554–39.854), having four or more chronic diseases (OR 5.120, 95% CI 1.113–23.557) and slower TUG (OR 1.394, 95% CI 1.167–1.665) were significantly associated with cognitive frailty‐related falls, whereas CNAQ (OR 0.704, 0.571–0.868) had protective effects. Conclusions Age, chronic disease, TUG and CNAQ were significantly associated with cognitive frailty and cognitive frailty‐related falls. The TUG and CNAQ have the greatest potential for improvement by intervention or lifestyle change. Further research is necessary to determine the efficacy of positive changes in these factors for symptomatic improvements. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2019; 19: 647–653.

Oral hypofunction, resulting from a combined decrease in multiple oral functions, may affect systemic-condition deterioration; however, few studies have examined the association between oral hypofunction and general health among older adults. In this cross-sectional study, we examined the relationship between oral hypofunction and sarcopenia in community-dwelling older adults. We included 878 adults (268 men and 610 women, mean age 76.5 ± 8.3 years). Tongue coating index, oral moisture, occlusal force, oral diadochokinesis (/pa/,/ta/,/ka/), tongue pressure, mas-ticatory function, and swallowing function were evaluated as indicators of oral hypofunction. Grip strength, gait speed, and skeletal muscle mass index were measured as diagnostic sarcopenia parameters. The association between oral hypofunction and sarcopenia was examined via logistic regression using sarcopenia as the dependent variable. Oral hypofunction prevalence was 50.5% overall, 40.3% in men, and 54.9% in women. The prevalence of sarcopenia was 18.6% overall, 9.7% in men, and 22.5% in women. A logistic regression showed oral hypofunction, age, body mass index, higher-level functional capacity, and serum albumin level were significantly associated with sarcopenia. Sarcopenia occurred at an increased frequency in patients diagnosed with oral hypofunction (odds ratio: 1.59, 95% confidence interval: 1.02–2.47); accordingly, oral hypofunction appears to be significantly associated with sarcopenia.

Our results confirm that masticatory function was associated with the progression to pre-frailty or frailty among community-dwelling individuals 65 years and older over the 2-year period of this longitudinal study. Of the masticatory function items evaluated, mixing ability and subjective chewing ability were associated with frailty progression.

Objective: To clarify the rate of oral frailty and oral hypofunction in rural communitydwelling older adults in Japan. Background: Recently, the oral function of Japanese older adults has been evaluated multilaterally based on two concepts: oral frailty and oral hypofunction. Oral frailty is defined as a decrease in the oral function accompanied by a decrease in mental and physical functions. Oral hypofunction is a disease where the oral function is comprehensively decreased. However, their rates have not yet been elucidated. Materials and methods: Oral frailty and oral hypofunction were evaluated in 679 older adults from rural areas. To investigate the differences in occurrence rates due to the evaluation methods, one of the subordinate symptoms of oral hypofunction, the reduced occlusal force, was evaluated based on both the occlusal force (main method) and the number of teeth (alternative method). Results: The rate of oral frailty was 22.3% in men and 22.7% in women. The rate of oral hypofunction was 39.0% in men and 46.9% in women. The overall rate of oral hypofunction was 43.6% when the reduced occlusal force of oral hypofunction was evaluated using the main method and 46.4% when evaluated using the alternative method. The proportion of participants with decreased occlusal force, the number of present teeth, oral diadochokinesis, tongue pressure and masticatory performance increased with age in both men and women. | 343 KUGIMIYA et Al.

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