Cognitive frailty (CF) is defined by the coexistence of physical frailty and mild cognitive impairment. Malnutrition is an underlying factor of age-related conditions including physical frailty. However, the evidence associating malnutrition and cognitive frailty is limited. This cross-sectional study aimed to determine the association between malnutrition and CF in the elderly. A total of 373 participants aged 65–84 years were enrolled after excluding those who were suspected to have dementia and depression. Then, 61 CF and 45 normal participants were randomly selected to measure serum prealbumin level. Cognitive function was assessed using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment-Basic (MoCA-B). Modified Fried’s criteria were used to define physical frailty. Nutritional status was evaluated by the Mini Nutritional Assessment–short form (MNA-SF), serum prealbumin, and anthropometric measurements. The prevalence of CF was 28.72%. Malnourished status by MNA-SF category (aOR = 2.81, 95%CI: 1.18–6.67) and MNA-SF score (aOR = 0.84, 95%CI = 0.74–0.94) were independently associated with CF. However, there was no correlation between CF and malnutrition assessed by serum prealbumin level and anthropometric measurements. Other independent risk factors of CF were advanced age (aOR = 1.06, 95%CI: 1.02–1.11) and educational level below high school (aOR = 6.77, 95%CI: 1.99–23.01). Malnutrition was associated with CF among Thai elderly. High-risk groups who are old and poorly educated should receive early screening and nutritional interventions.

Health literacy is an essential social determinant of health and has been associated with positive health outcomes. While many sources of health information are widely available, people of different ages also have diverse social contexts and preferences for health information sources. This study aimed to identify health information sources and socio-demographics influencing health literacy in different social contexts across age groups: 15–29 years (young), 30–59 years (middle-age), and ≥60 years (elderly). We obtained secondary data from a cross-sectional study in northern Thailand from March to August 2019. Multivariate linear regression with age group subgroup analysis was used to determine factors associated with general health literacy by the Thai version of the health literacy questionnaire. Receiving health information from physicians was significantly associated with higher general health literacy in young (β 6.45, 95%CI 0.44–12.45; p = 0.035) and elderly (β 5.18, 95%CI 1.84–8.52; p = 0.002) groups, while receiving health information from health volunteers was significantly associated with a higher general health literacy in the middle-aged (β 2.89, 95%CI 0.38–5.39; p = 0.024) group. Although younger participants showed more frequent access to health information via the media than the other age groups, there were no media sources significantly linked with their general health literacy. Health information from physicians is a vital source of health information.

Thailand has officially reached the status of an “aged society” and become the developing country with the 2nd largest proportion of senior citizens in Southeast Asia. A cross-sectional study of 526 early-old community dwellers was conducted for the Fried frailty phenotype assessment, This included five indicators: Weakness, slowness, physical activity, exhaustion, and weight loss. C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), insulin-like growth factor-1, and CD4+:CD8+ Ratio which serve as blood-based biomarkers of frailty. The prevalence of frailty and pre-frail in this population was found to be 15% and 69.6% respectively and was higher among women than men. Frail (n = 58) and non-frail (n = 60) participants were evaluated for the associations between the frail indicators and the blood-based biomarkers. Serum levels of IL-6 and CRP from frail group were significantly elevated when compared with the non-frail counterparts (p = 0.044 and 0.033, respectively), and were significantly associated with the frailty status with an Odd Ratio_IL-6 [OR] of 1.554-fold (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.229–1.966) and an OR_CRP of 1.011-fold (95 CI, 1.006–1.016). Decreased hand-grip strength was the only frailty indicator that was significantly associated with both inflammatory biomarkers, (OR_IL-6 of 1.470-fold and OR_CRP of 1.008-fold). Our study is the first to assess the frailty status among the early-old population in Thailand. These findings will encourage general practitioners to combine frailty indicators and serum biomarkers as early detection tools for at-risk older adults to achieve the goal of healthy aging.

The COVID-19 restrictions, such as social isolation and disruption of daily routines, can have detrimental effects, including increased stress, anxiety, sleep disturbance, and physical and cognitive decline among older adults. This study aimed to examine the association between nutritional status, depression, sleep quality, falling asleep at night, and cognitive frailty (CF) among older Thai adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. This cross-sectional study included 408 older adults with an average age of 70.54 (5.49) years. CF was determined using Fried’s frailty phenotype and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment Basic. The Mini Nutritional Assessment-Short Form, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and geriatric depression assessment were used for assessment. Multiple logistic regression analysis demonstrated that participants who were malnourished (OR 3.786; 95%CI 1.719–8.335), depressed (OR 5.003; 95%CI 2.399–10.434), had poor sleep quality (OR 1.613; 95%CI 1.041–2.500), and engaged in difficulty falling asleep (OR 1.809; 95%CI 1.022–3.203) had a higher risk of CF compared to those who did not exhibit these factors. Therefore, malnutrition, depression, poor sleep quality, and difficulty falling asleep were identified as risk factors for CF among older adults in Thailand linked to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is crucial to develop interventions to prevent CF resulting from the mentioned variables.

Hypertension and its connection to high salt consumption have been observed in the Thai population. This study mainly contributed to the literature to examine the dietary-salt-related determinants associated with the risk of hypertension in rural northern Thailand, which exhibited the highest prevalence of hypertension. A total of 376 adults residing in San Pa Tong District, Chiang Mai province, were face-to-face interviewed using a structured questionnaire assessing dietary-salt-related knowledge, attitudes, consumption, sources, and habits. The subject’s blood pressure (BP) was measured twice before and after the interview. Hypertension was defined as a systolic BP ≥ 130 mmHg or a diastolic BP ≥ 80 mmHg. The dietary-salt-related knowledge, attitude, and habits toward salt reduction were positively correlated; however, knowledge and attitudes were not significantly correlated with consumption. Multivariate logistic regression results indicated subjects who frequently bought ready-to-eat food, ate out, or used bouillon cube/monosodium glutamate (MSG) during food preparation were likely to have hypertension (OR = 2.24, 95% CI: 1.36–3.69, p = 0.002). MSG was heavily consumed and used as a flavor enhancer in northern Thai cuisine; however, a few subjects realized it contains sodium due to no salty taste. The deficiency of specific dietary-salt-related knowledge illustrated the need for tailored educational intervention strategies.

Insulin resistance is a risk factor for various diseases. Chronic organophosphate exposure has been reported to be a cause of insulin resistance in animal models. This cross-sectional study aimed to evaluate the association between organophosphate exposure and insulin resistance in pesticide sprayers and nonfarmworkers. Participants aged 40–60 years, consisting of 150 pesticide sprayers and 150 nonfarmworkers, were interviewed and assessed for their homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) level. Organophosphate (OP) exposure was measured in 37 sprayers and 46 nonfarmworkers by first morning urinary dialkyl phosphate (DAP) metabolites. The DAP metabolite levels were not different in either group except for diethylthiophosphate (DETP; p = 0.03), which was higher in sprayers. No significant association was observed between DAP metabolite levels and HOMA-IR. Wearing a mask while handling pesticides was associated with lower dimethyl metabolites (95% CI = −11.10, −0.17). Work practices of reading pesticide labels (95% CI = −81.47, −14.99) and washing hands after mixing pesticide (95% CI = −39.97, −3.35) correlated with lower diethyl alkylphosphate level. Overall, we did not observe any association between OP exposure and insulin resistance in pesticide sprayers and the general population. However, personal protective equipment (PPE) utilization and work practice were associated with OP exposure level in sprayers.