Associations between apathy and comprehensive frailty as assessed by the Kihon Checklist among community-dwelling Japanese older adults.

Frailty is a multidimensional condition characterised by reduced physical and psychological resilience. Older adults also frequently demonstrate apathy, suggesting that it shares similar neuro-physiological pathways with frailty. This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the association between apathy and frailty as defined by a comprehensive assessment. We analyzed 882 older adults (mean age: 74.4 ± 6.4 years; 62.1% female) who participated in a community-based health check survey (Tarumizu Study). Apathy was measured by the Geriatric Depression Scale-3A, a three-item subset of the Geriatric Depression Scale-15, and frailty by the Kihon Checklist of physical, psychological, functional, and social status. Associations were examined by multinomial logistic regression with frailty status (robust, pre-frailty, frailty) as the dependent variable, apathy as the independent variable, and sociodemographic factors, medications, cognitive function, functional capacity, and mood symptoms as potential confounders. Apathy was observed in 23.7% of individuals, and logistic regression revealed significant associations with both pre-frailty and frailty after confounder adjustment (pre-frailty: odds ratio (OR) 1.80, 95% CI 1.22-2.64; frailty: OR 3.24, 95% CI 1.63-6.42). Participants with apathy also exhibited greater deficits in the Kihon Checklist subdomains instrumental activities of daily living (P = 0.022), physical function (P < 0.001), oral function (P < 0.001), and cognitive function (P = 0.001). Our findings underscore the importance of comprehensive frailty assessment and demonstrate that apathy can have pervasive deleterious effects on geriatric health.

Maruta M ，Shimokihara S ，Makizako H ，Ikeda Y ，Han G ，Akasaki Y ，Hidaka Y ，Kamasaki T ，Kubozono T ，Ohishi M ，Tabira T ... -  《-》

Prevalence and Associated Factors with Frailty Using the Kihon Checklist among Community-Dwelling Older Adults in Taiwan.

Chen CC ，Hsu WC ，Wu YH ，Lai FY ，Yang PY ，Lin IC ... -  《-》

Low tongue pressure and depression using Kihon Checklist for assessing frailty status among community-dwelling Japanese older adults: A pilot study.

Evaluation of low tongue pressure is used to diagnose oral hypofunction. The pathophysiology of oral hypofunction is hypothesized to be associated with oral dysfunction related to ageing. Depression in older adults is a major problem and is related to handgrip strength, which is related to tongue pressure. We hypothesized that low tongue pressure could indicate depression mood in community-dwelling older adults. This study aimed to measure maximum tongue pressure and compare it to the responses to the Kihon Checklist (KCL), which is used to check mental and physical deterioration of community-dwelling older adults. A total of 49 community-dwelling independent older adults with stable dental condition (23 men, 26 women; median age, 79 years) answered the KCL, which contained questions on frailty status, cognitive function, nutritional and sarcopenia status. Oral function was measured to assess oral hypofunction. The relationship between tongue pressure differences and frailty status, cognitive function, nutritional and sarcopenia status was analysed using logistic regression analyses after adjusting for age and sex. Nine participants (6 men and 3 women; median age, 81 years) had a tongue pressure <23.0 kPa, which was the lowest limit of the standard value of maximum tongue pressure in patients aged ≥70 years. Logistic regression analyses showed that only Question 21, which is related to a lack of fulfilment in daily life, was significantly associated with low tongue pressure (p = .027). Low tongue pressure may be associated with sociopsychological factors in older adults.

Yoshikawa M ，Nishikawa Y ，Kitagawa M ，Nagao A ，Hiraoka A ，Haruta A ，Takeuchi M ，Yoshida M ，Tsuga K ... -  《-》

Importance of cognitive assessment as part of the "Kihon Checklist" developed by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare for prediction of frailty at a 2-year follow up.

To investigate which category in the "Kihon Checklist" developed by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare can predict functional decline for community-dwelling elderly people at a 2-year follow up. We compared comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) between "specified elderly individuals" at high risk of requiring long-term care insurance (LTCI) and "uncertified elderly people" (neither certified under LTCI nor "specified"), and also compared CGA between the risk group and non-risk group, in subcategories of the "Kihon Checklist", such as physical strength, nutrition/oral function, overall low score on questions 1-20, houseboundness, cognitive function, and depression risk. The study population consisted of 527 elderly participants aged 75 years and older in a cross-sectional study, and 382 in a longitudinal study. CGA was assessed for basic and higher functional activities of daily living (ADL), depressive symptoms, and quality of life (QOL). The Student's t-test was used in the cross-sectional study and ANOVA with repeated measures was used in the longitudinal analysis. In the cross-sectional study, the risk group had lower functions in all CGA items than the non-risk group in all subcategories of the "Kihon Checklist." In the longitudinal study, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology Index of Competence scores and its three subscales declined in the risk group both in physical and cognitive subcategories compared with the non-risk group, whereas only one or two subscales of Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology Index of Competence declined in "specified" and the other two subcategories of the Kihon Checklist In both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies, the assessment of physical strength and cognitive function was more useful to detect frail elderly.

Fukutomi E ，Okumiya K ，Wada T ，Sakamoto R ，Ishimoto Y ，Kimura Y ，Kasahara Y ，Chen WL ，Imai H ，Fujisawa M ，Otuka K ，Matsubayashi K ... -  《-》

The Association between Habitual Green Tea Consumption and Comprehensive Frailty as Assessed by Kihon Checklist Indexes among an Older Japanese Population.

Nanri H ，Yoshida T ，Watanabe Y ，Fujita H ，Kimura M ，Yamada Y ，On Behalf Of The Kameoka Study Group ... -  《Nutrients》