Association between Oral Frailty and Physical Frailty Subdomains in Chinese Community-Dwelling Older Adults:A Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

Abstract Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted in urban communities in Beijing from March 2022 to June 2023. We chose the Frailty Phenotype (FP) to assess physical frailty and Oral Frailty Index-8 to assess oral frailty. The analysis of factors affecting oral frailty was analyzed by multi-factorial logistic stepwise regression.Results 427 participants (147 women; mean age 81.81 ± 9.54 years) were enrolled in this study, 169 (39.58%) were non-oral frailty and 258(60.42%) were oral frailty. Visit a dental clinic less than annually (75.0%) and tooth loss(70.2%) are the most prevalent subdomains in oral frailty adults. After adjusting covariates, logistic regression analysis revealed that frailty phenotype (OR: 1.433, 95% CI: 1.150–1.785,p = 0.001)was associated with oral frailty. In the subdomains of physical frailty, exhaustion( OR = 2.363, 95% CI:1.302–4.289, p = 0.005 ) and slow gait speed (OR = 1.752, 95% CI:1.076–2.853, p = 0.024 ) were associated with oral frailty .Conclusion People with physical frailty should be more concerned about oral health issues, exhaustion and slow gait speed can be the sensitive indicators of oral frailty.