Obesity, fat distribution, and risk of frailty in two population‐based cohorts of older adults in Spain

• Published in: Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.) Vol. 23; no. 4; pp. 847 - 855
• Main Authors: García‐Esquinas, Esther, José García‐García, Francisco, León‐Muñoz, Luz M., Carnicero, José Antonio, Guallar‐Castillón, Pilar, Gonzalez‐Colaço Harmand, Magali, López‐García, Esther, Alonso‐Bouzón, Cristina, Rodríguez‐Mañas, Leocadio, Rodríguez‐Artalejo, Fernando
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.04.2015
• Subjects: Aged; Body Mass Index; Comorbidity; Fatigue - epidemiology; Female; Frail Elderly - statistics & numerical data; Frailty; Geriatric Assessment - statistics & numerical data; Health Status; Humans; Insulin resistance; Male; Middle Aged; Obesity; Obesity - epidemiology; Obesity, Abdominal - epidemiology; Odds Ratio; Older people; Risk Assessment - methods; Risk Factors; Spain - epidemiology; Studies; Spain
• ISSN: 1930-7381; 1930-739X
• DOI: 10.1002/oby.21013

Objective To evaluate for the first time the longitudinal relationship between abdominal obesity and the onset of frailty. Methods Study based on results from two population‐based cohorts, the Seniors‐ENRICA, with 1801 individuals aged ≥60, and the Toledo Study for Healthy Ageing (TSHA), with 1289 participants ≥65 years. Incident frailty was assessed with the Fried criteria. Results During 3.5 years of follow‐up, 125 individuals with incident frailty in Seniors‐ENRICA and 162 in TSHA were identified. After adjustment for the main confounders, the pooled odds ratio (pooled OR) for general obesity and risk of frailty was 1.73 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.18‐2.28). Abdominal obesity was also associated with frailty (pooled OR: 1.67; 95% CI: 1.09‐2.25). Compared with individuals with BMI <25 kg/m2 and no abdominal obesity, the risk of frailty was highest among individuals with concurrent general and abdominal obesity (pooled OR: 2.55; 95% CI: 1.23‐3.86). General obesity was associated with increased risk of exhaustion (pooled OR: 1.66; 95% CI: 1.11‐2.21), low physical activity (pooled OR: 1.57; 95% CI: 1.08‐2.05), and weakness (pooled OR: 1.63; 95% CI: 1.12‐2.05). For abdominal obesity, results were in the same direction, although they showed statistical significance only for weakness (OR: 1.46; 95% CI: 1.11‐1.80). Conclusions General and abdominal obesity are associated with incident frailty in the elderly.