Characteristics and Factors Linked to Declined Manual Dexterity in Frailty in Community-Dwelling Older Women

Finger dexterity declines in frail older adults, but confounding by age and cognition limits inference. This study aimed to isolate the association between frailty and dexterity in community-dwelling older women. We assessed 119 women on the Kihon Checklist (KCL), cognition, Nine-Hole Peg Test (NHPT), grip strength, upper-limb muscle mass, and attention. NHPT was performed with the dominant hand under normal and "inhibit" conditions (concurrent isometric pinch with the non-dominant hand). Participants were classified as robust or frail by KCL. After propensity score matching based on age and cognitive function, NHPT completion time was verified using a two-factor mixed ANOVA, while grip strength, muscle mass, and attention were compared between groups. The association between NHPT and muscle mass was also examined. The frail group showed longer NHPT completion times than robust peers under both conditions and lower grip strength. In frail participants, NHPT time under the inhibit condition correlated positively with right and left upperlimb muscle mass. After controlling for age and cognition, frailty was associated with impaired finger dexterity in older women. However, since participants were recruited from only one region and were limited to women, these findings should be interpreted with caution when generalizing to other populations.