Social, behavioural, and functional characteristics of community-dwelling South Korean adults with moderate and severe cognitive impairment

OBJECTIVES

This study used the 2016 Korean Longitudinal Study on Aging to investigate the social, behavioural, and functional characteristics of community-dwelling South Korean adults with cognitive impairment.

METHODS

Participants were classified as normal, moderate impairment, and severe impairment according to an algorithm that combined the Korean Mini-Mental State Examination score and the number of difficulties in performing instrumental activities of daily living. Selected characteristics included grip strength, depression, participation in exercise and social activities, and living in a rural, urban, or suburban community.

RESULTS

Most (72.7%) participants were classified as having normal cognition, 20.1% were classified as moderate impairment, and 7.2% were classified as severe impairment. Regardless of sex, the differences in grip strength across the cognitive status classifications were statistically significant, except for the difference between moderate and severe cognitive impairment in males (p = 0.8477). Greater number of depressive symptoms and living in rural areas were associated with significantly higher odds for severe cognitive impairment. Participants with moderate (OR = 0.51) and severe (OR = 0.33) cognitive impairment were less likely to participate in social activities than those with normal cognition.

CONCLUSIONS

The study findings revealed that social, behavioural, and functional characteristics are closely related to the cognitive status of community-dwelling adults in South Korea.

Quality of life and subjective health status according to handgrip strength in the elderly: a cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to examine potential associations between handgrip strength and health-related quality of life, or subjective health status, in the elderly.

METHOD

We performed secondary data analysis on 2377 elderly individuals aged >65 years. Raw data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey VI (2014-2015), were drawn from a representative national sample.

RESULTS

Of those aged ≥65 years or older, 25.4% had low handgrip strength. After adjusting for confounding variables, the odds ratios of elderly individuals with low handgrip strength were 1.30 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.00-1.69) for mobility, 2.18 (95% CI: 1.47-3.22) for self-care, 1.70 (95% CI: 1.30-2.23) for usual activities, 1.30 (95% CI: 1.01-1.67) for pain/discomfort, 1.03 (95% CI: 0.74-1.44) for anxiety/depression, 1.44 (95% CI: 1.10-1.87) for the EQ-5D index, and 1.37 (95% CI: 1.08-1.73) for subjective health status.

CONCLUSION

Health-related quality of life and subjective health status differ according to handgrip strength. Therefore, handgrip strength should be addressed to improve quality of life in elderly individuals. Elderly individuals require exercise education and adequate nutritional intake to increase handgrip strength.