ABSTRACT

Frailty is a major public health problem leading to functional decline or disability, hospitalization, and death. This study aimed to identify factors related to frailty in the middle-aged and old age groups using the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging. Data analysis first was to verify the effects of factors influencing frailty (demographic, socio-economic, social function, health behavior, and health status factors) based on cross-sectional data that integrated survey data over several years into one. Furthermore, the effect of the factors was examined in a longitudinal approach with a time difference in the time of measurement of the survey data. As a result of cross-sectional data analysis, demographic factors (male, elderly, single, and rural residents), socio-economic factors (people with low education, low income, and no economic activity), social function factors (number of meetings with close friends and/or participation in social activities), health behavior factors (drinkers and people who do not exercise regularly), and health status factors (number of chronic diseases, depression, cognitive ability, ADL, or IADL) were confirmed to be related to frailty. In addition, as a result of examining the effect on frailty with longitudinal data, it was almost similar to the results of the cross-sectional data analysis mentioned earlier. The findings of this study suggest that it is necessary to prioritize and support public health interventions for the older adults who are socially, economically, or physically vulnerable. It is suggested that the intervention program should include counseling and education related to improvement of willpower for recovery from frailty, and training related to improvement of physical function to perform daily life independently rather than improvement of a specific single indicator.