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Body composition as a frailty marker for the elderly community
Gláucia Regina Falsarella1, Lívia Pimenta Renó Gasparotto1, Caroline Coutinho Barcelos2
1Gerontology Program, Faculty of Medical Sciences, State University of Campinas (Unicamp), Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil.
Clinical Interventions in Aging
|November 4, 2015
Summary
Frailty in older adults is linked to lower muscle and bone mass, and higher body fat percentage. Body Mass Index is not a reliable indicator for assessing frailty-related body composition changes.
Area of Science:
- Gerontology
- Body Composition Analysis
- Geriatric Medicine
Background:
- Body composition in the elderly is linked to disease and mortality.
- Limited data exists on the relationship between body composition and frailty in older adults.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between body composition and frailty in the elderly.
- To identify distinct body composition profiles for nonfrail, prefrail, and frail individuals.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional study of 235 elderly individuals (≥65 years).
- Evaluated sociodemographic data, cognitive function, comorbidities, medications, frailty status, body mass index, muscle mass, fat mass, bone mass, and fat percentage.
- Utilized Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests to analyze the relationship between body composition and frailty.
Main Results:
- Nonfrail elderly had higher muscle and bone mass compared to prefrail and frail individuals.
- Frail elderly exhibited a higher fat percentage than nonfrail individuals.
- Grip strength and muscle mass positively correlated with bone mass; grip strength negatively correlated with fat percentage.
Conclusions:
- Frailty in the elderly is characterized by reduced muscle and bone mass, and increased fat percentage.
- Body Mass Index is ineffective for assessing frailty-related body composition.
- Evaluating fat percentage is crucial for understanding tissue distribution and its impact on elderly body composition.
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