Although frailty and cognitive impairment are critical risk factors for disability and mortality in the general population of older inhabitants, the prevalence and incidence of these factors in individuals treated in the specialty outpatient clinics are unknown. We recently established a frailty clinic for comprehensive assessments of conditions such as frailty, sarcopenia, and cognition, and planned 3-year prospective observational study to identify the risk factors for progression of these aging-related statuses. To date, we recruited 323 patients who revealed symptoms suggestive of frailty mainly from a specialty outpatient clinic of cardiology and diabetes. Frailty status was diagnosed by the modified Cardiovascular Health Study (mCHS) criteria and some other scales. Cognitive function was assessed by Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Japanese version of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA-J), and some other modalities. Sarcopenia was defined by the criteria of the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia (AWGS). In this report, we outlined our frailty clinic and analyzed the background characteristics of the subjects. Most patients reported hypertension (78%), diabetes mellitus (57%), or dyslipidemia (63%), and cardiovascular disease and probable heart failure also had a higher prevalence. The prevalence of frailty diagnosed according to the mCHS criteria, cognitive impairment defined by MMSE (≤27) and MoCA-J (≤25), and of AWGS-defined sarcopenia were 24, 41, and 84, and 31%, respectively. The prevalence of frailty and cognitive impairment increased with aging, whereas the increase in sarcopenia prevalence plateaued after the age of 80 years. No significant differences were observed in the prevalence of frailty, cognitive impairment, and sarcopenia between the groups with and without diabetes mellitus, hypertension, or dyslipidemia with a few exceptions, presumably due to the high-risk subjects who had multiple cardiovascular comorbidities. A majority of the frail and sarcopenic patients revealed cognitive impairment, whereas the frequency of suspected dementia among these patients were both approximately 20%. We found a high prevalence of frailty, cognitive impairment, and sarcopenia in patients with cardiometabolic disease in our frailty clinic. Comprehensive assessment of the high-risk patients could be useful to identify the risk factors for progression of frailty and cognitive decline.

Previous studies examined the physical characteristics of older dog owners. However, associations of health-related factors with dog/cat ownership have not been comprehensively evaluated. This cross-sectional study examined physical function, physical activity, social function, and psychological function of a population of community-dwelling older Japanese dog and cat owners after controlling for important confounders. The analysis included data from 11,233 community-dwelling adults aged 65 years or older (51.5% women; 52.3% aged 75–84), in Ota City, Tokyo, Japan. Pet ownership experience and pet species owned were determined by self-reported questionnaire, and current, past, and never dog/cat ownership was analyzed. Analysis of variables related to physical function and physical activity showed that motor fitness scale and walking activity were significantly associated with experience of dog ownership, after adjustment for important sociodemographic and health characteristics. Analysis of social function showed that interaction with neighbors, social isolation, and trust in neighbors were significantly associated with experience of dog ownership and cat ownership. As compared with respondents with no history of pet ownership, motor fitness and walking activity are greater for dog owners and social function is higher for dog and cat owners. Caring for a dog or cat might be an effective health promotion strategy to increase physical activity and facilitate social participation among older adults.

Background: Few studies have examined the state of oral function in older adults with sarcopenia. We assessed the oral functions of community‐dwelling older adults with sarcopenia from multiple perspectives to clarify their potentially low oral function.Methods: A total of 1517 (86.2%; 990 women, 527 men; mean age 76.1 ± 7.6 years) participants were included in this study. Grip strength, gait speed and skeletal muscle mass index were assessed, and sarcopenia was evaluated according to the criteria of the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia 2019. The degree of tongue coating, oral moisture, occlusal force, tongue–lip motor function, tongue pressure, masticatory function and swallowing function were assessed. The criteria for oral hypofunction (a disease that is a combination of multiple low oral functions) were used to assess oral function. Statistical analyses were performed using Kolmogorov–Smirnov test, unpaired t‐test, Mann–Whitney U test, χ² test, and univariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses, with each oral function as the dependent variable and sarcopenia as one of the independent variables. The significance level was set at P < 0.05.Results: The prevalence rates of sarcopenia and severe sarcopenia were 14.2% and 3.8%, respectively. The prevalence of oral hypofunction was 39.9%. Compared with the robust group, the sarcopenia and severe sarcopenia groups tended to have a higher frequency of the following components (all P < 0.01): low occlusal force, low tongue–lip motor function, low tongue pressure, low masticatory function, low swallowing function and oral hypofunction. Univariate logistic regression analysis showed that sarcopenia was associated with low occlusal force, low tongue–lip motor function, low tongue pressure, low masticatory function, low swallowing function and oral hypofunction. The odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals of sarcopenia for each oral function were 2.62 [2.00, 3.43], 2.21 [1.69, 2.89], 3.66 [2.79, 4.81], 3.23 [2.46, 4.25], 1.66 [1.26, 2.20] and 3.59 [2.72, 4.72], respectively. Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that sarcopenia was associated with low occlusal force (1.63 [1.10, 2.40]), low tongue pressure (2.28 [1.65, 3.15]), low masticatory function, (1.94 [1.27, 2.97]), low swallowing function (1.64 [1.17, 2.28]) and oral hypofunction (2.17 [1.52, 3.09]).Conclusions: This study demonstrated that multiple aspects of oral function were low among community‐dwelling older adults with sarcopenia. The potential decline in oral functions in older adults with sarcopenia may have been overlooked until now. This study indicates the need for dental perspectives in intervening with older adults with sarcopenia and the need to encourage them to see dental professionals.

Purpose: Although exercising with others might have health benefits, no previous study has comprehensively examined associations of exercise arrangement with physical activity (PA), physical function (PF), and mental health (MH). We examined whether PA, PF, and MH are better when exercising with others than when exercising alone or not exercising.Methods: We analyzed cross-sectional data from 7759 (4007 men and 3752 women) nondisabled residents age 65 to 84 yr. PA, PF, and MH were assessed with the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form (PA sufficiency defined as ≥150 min·wk⁻¹of moderate-to-vigorous PA), Motor Fitness Scale (higher PF defined as total score ≥12 in men and ≥10 in women), and World Health Organization-Five Well-Being Index (better MH defined as a total score ≥13), respectively. Exercise arrangement was classified as “nonexerciser,” “exercising alone,” and “exercising with others.” Using multilevel logistic regression analyses, we examined independent associations of exercise arrangement with PA, PF, and MH.Results: Compared with exercising alone, the multivariate-adjusted odds ratios (95% confidence interval) among nonexercisers and those exercising with others were 0.21 (0.17–0.25) and 1.32 (1.04–1.67), respectively, for PA sufficiency, 0.47 (0.40–0.57) and 1.12 (0.94–1.34) for higher PF, and 0.69 (0.58–0.82) and 1.45 (1.17–1.79) for better MH, respectively, in men. In women, the corresponding odds ratios were 0.37 (0.30–0.46) and 1.31 (1.01–1.70) for PA sufficiency, 0.66 (0.54–0.80) and 1.08 (0.88–1.32) for higher PF, and 0.70 (0.58–0.85) and 1.27 (1.03–1.56) for better MH, respectively.Conclusions: Exercising alone and with others were better than no exercise for maintaining better PA, PF, and MH in both sexes. Although exercise arrangement had little effect on maintaining PF, exercising with others appears to enhance PA levels and MH in both sexes.

Japan's largest platform for academic e-journals: J-STAGE is a full text database for reviewed academic papers published by Japanese societies