The Evolutionary Stage of Cognitive Frailty and Its Changing Characteristics in Old Adults

Objectives This study aimed to explore the evolutionary stage of the elderly from the normal to the cognitive frailty, and to identify the important factors which influenced the changes of the cognitive frailty stage from the << physiological-psychological-social >> perspective. Design A cross-sectional study. Setting and Participants A random cluster sampling was used to recruit 4,010 old adults living in community from Shanxi province in China. Measurements Data were collected by face-to-face questionnaire survey. Multinomial logistic regression was used to screen the factors contributing to the 6 population groups with various cognitive functions and frailty status. Principal component analysis was used to redefine the evolutionary stages of cognitive frailty, while the orthogonal partial least squares discrimination analysis and binary logistic regression were used to identify the important factors and distinguish different stages and influence directions. Results The factors contributing to the population with various cognitive functions and frailty status were involved in all aspects of << physical-psychological-social >>. Apart from normal group, other 5 groups were clustered into << stage of frailty change >> and << stage of cognitive frailty change >>. Aging, early onset of chronic diseases, high pain intensity, and poor nutritional status might deteriorate the individual's evolution from normal stage to stage of frailty change while the increasing social activity might promote the individual's health. Simultaneously, early onset of chronic diseases, high pain intensity and poor nutritional status also played important roles in the evolution of individual from stage of frailty change to stage of cognitive frailty change. Conclusion The formation of cognitive frailty might experience the << normal-frailty-cognitive frailty >> stages change, and both the prevention and intervention of frailty might delay the occurrence of cognitive frailty. Therefore, the strategies for both prevention and intervention among old adults should be throughout centered on the parts of preventing the premature onset of chronic diseases, carrying out stage-tailored nutrition intervention, and establishing standardized pain management, especially the part of increasing the social activities among older adults.

Automated summary

The study found that important factors influencing the changes in cognitive frailty stage include physiological, psychological, and social factors. Aside from the normal group, the other 5 groups were clustered into "stage of frailty change" and "stage of cognitive frailty change". Aging, early onset of chronic diseases, high pain intensity, and poor nutritional status may worsen the individual's evolution from the normal stage to the stage of frailty change, while increasing social activity may promote the individual's health.