Korean frailty and aging cohort study (KFACS): cohort profile

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of the Korean Frailty and Aging Cohort Study (KFACS) is to initiate a nationwide, population-based prospective cohort study of older adults living in the community to assess their frailty status and explore transitions between frailty states over time in Korea.ParticipantsThe KFACS is a multicentre longitudinal study with the baseline survey conducted from May 2016 to November 2017. Each centre recruited participants using quota sampling stratified by age and sex. The number of participants recruited through 2 years of baseline study from 10 centres was 3014, with each site accounting for approximately 300 participants. The inclusion criteria were: having an age of 70–84 years, currently living in the community, having no plans to move out in the next 2 years, having no problems with communication and no prior dementia diagnosis.Findings to dateTo define physical frailty, the KFACS used a modified version of the Fried Frailty Phenotype (FFP) consisting of five components of frailty: unintended weight loss, weakness, self-reported exhaustion, slowness and low physical activity. In the baseline study of 2016–2017, 2907 of 3014 individuals fulfilled all five components of FFP. The results indicated that 7.8% of the participants (n=228) were frail, 47.0% (n=1366) were prefrail and 45.2% (n=1313) were robust. The prevalence of frailty increased with age in both sexes; in the group aged 70–74 years, 1.8% of men and 3.7% of women were frail, whereas in the 80–84 years age group, 14.9% of men and 16.7% of women were frail. Women tended to exhibit a higher prevalence of frailty than men in all age groups.Future plansThe KFACS plans to identify outcomes and risk factors associated with frailty by conducting a 10-year cohort study, with a follow-up every 2 years, using 3014 baseline participants.

Screening Value of Timed Up and Go Test for Frailty and Low Physical Performance in Korean Older Population: The Korean Frailty and Aging Cohort Study (KFACS)

“…22) With KFACS as the first Korean multicenter prospective cohort on frailty, the significance of the present study is that it uses the nationwide distributions of frailty and low SPPB to produce corresponding TUG cut points. 17) Although many validated screening questionnaires exist for frailty, [23][24][25] subjective factors such as examiners' skill or perception and patients' prejudice regarding their health status may influence the results of these tools as these are measured using self-reported questionnaires. Alternatively, more objective and multifaceted assessments using the components of comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA), which is considered to be the criterion standard for evaluating frailty, sometimes require more than 30 minutes to complete.…”

“…Poor grip strength was defined as the lower 20th percentile of grip strength (maximal grip strength in kg after measuring twice for each hand using a hand grip dynamometer [T.K.K.5401; Takei Scientific Instruments Co., Tokyo, Japan]), stratified by sex and body mass index (BMI) quartiles based on the KFACS baseline survey. 17 ) To quantify exhaustion, we used the following statements from the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression (CES-D) scale for 3 or more days in a week: “I felt that everything I did was an effort” or “I could not get going”. 18 ) For slowness, we used the lowest 20% of a 4-m gait speed stratified by sex and height based on KFACS data.…”

Risk of Frailty Prediction Among Institutionalized Older Adults

“…However, the ndings of the current study indicate a negative relationship between female gender and frailty. [22] The reason for this could be due to unequal gender distribution especially after 80 years of age (20 women vs 9 men). A statistically signi cant association has been found in this study between vegetarian diet and frailty.…”

Diagnosis and Management of Frailty in Primary Health Care

“…The cut-off values for grip strength and gait speed of the five components were suggested by Fried based on the Cardiovascular Health Study [ 11 ]. Won et al [ 12 ] suggested criteria for frailty among Korean older adults based on data of Korean Frailty and Aging Cohort Study as follows ( Table 1 ) [ 13 ].…”