Association Between the Onset of Physical Frailty and Executive Function in Community-Dwelling Elderly People

Abstract

Purpose: Physical frailty may increase the risk of dementia, but it is not known exactly how cognition decreases. In this study, the features of recognition dysfunction in physical frailty were assessed. Method: The subjects were 46 elderly people aged 75 years or older ( M age = 83.2 ± 5.1 years) who visited community day care facilities between July 2018 and January 2020. The subjects were divided into a physical frailty group and a nonfrailty group, and physical performance and cognitive function were evaluated. Physical performance was measured by the Timed Up and Go (TUG) test, handgrip strength, lower leg circumference on both sides, and one-leg standing time. The Mini-Mental State Examination, Raven's Colored Progressive Matrices, and the Trail Making Test (TMT) were used to assess cognitive function. Results: The subjects were diagnosed based on the Cardiovascular Health Study criteria, in particular, Cardiovascular Health Study diagnostic items based on the Japanese version criteria. The physical frailty group included 10 subjects with an average age of 82.9 ± 4.0 years, and the nonfrailty group included 18 subjects with an average age of 83.4 ± 3.9 years. The physical frailty group showed significantly lower TUG and TMT compared with the nonfrailty group. There was also a significant correlation between TUG and Part B of the TMT in the physical frailty group (r = 0.735, p < .05). Conclusions: Executive function was lower in the physical frailty group, and the possibility of an effect on physical activity was suggested. Based on these results, evaluation of physical frailty can lead to more strategic prevention and treatment by combining physical performance evaluation with cognitive function tests including evaluation of executive function.