Association of Frailty and Cardiometabolic Risk Among Community-Dwelling Middle-Aged and Older People: Results from the I-Lan Longitudinal Aging Study

The aim of this study was to evaluate the association of cardiometabolic risk and frailty through a community-based aging cohort in Taiwan In total, 1839 participants (men, 47.5%; mean age 63.9 ± 9.3 years) from the first wave of the I-Lan longitudinal cohort study, recruited between August of 2011 and August of 2013, were retrieved for the analysis of this cross-sectional study. Frailty was defined by Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS) criteria, encompassing un-intentional weight loss, slow walk speed, poor grip strength, exhaustion, and low activity. Comparisons between cardiometabolic risk and frailty status were performed after adjustment for age, hormone parameters, functional measurements, and skeletal muscle mass. Independent association of cardiometabolic risk and frailty status was identified through the multivariate logistic regression model. We found that the prevalence of frailty and pre-frial were 6.8% and 40.5%, respectively. Adjustments for age, blood pressure, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), uric acid, creatinine, and carotid intima media thickness were not significantly associated with frailty. However, lower total cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), higher high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) and glycemia profiles were significantly associated with frailty. For hormone parameters, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S), insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), and free androgen index were not significantly associated with frailty after age adjustment. In a multivariate logistic regression model, abdominal obesity, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), and hsCRP were significantly associated with frailty. The odds ratio (OR) for frailty was 3.57 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.88-6.78, p < 0.001), 1.30 (95% CI 1.02-1.66, p = 0.032), and 1.66 (95% CI 1.10-2.49, p = 0.016), respectively, in a fully adjusted model. Conversely, higher total cholesterol was associated with a lower prevalence of frailty (OR = 0.44, 95% CI 0.22-0.89, p = 0.023) in the final model. In this study, abdominal obesity, insulin resistance, and inflammation were significantly associated with frailty, and the effect was independent of functional measurement and decline of skeletal muscle mass. An integrated approach targeted at cardiometabolic aging and frailty is needed in clinical practice. © Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. 2015.