Disability, Frailty and Depression in the Community-dwelling Elderly with Osteosarcopenia
Abstract Background The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of osteosarcopenia in the over 60-year-old community and to evaluate whether osteosarcopenia is associated with disability, frailty and depression. Methods This study was performed using the baseline data of Namgaram-2, which was developed to study the relationship between the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders and activity limitations in the elderly in rural areas. Among the 1010 surveyed subjects, 885 study subjects who were 60 years or older and had all necessary tests performed were selected. The Kaigo-Yobo checklist was completed for diagnosis of frailty and the degree of disability in everyday life was evaluated by WHODAS. To understand the symptoms of depression in the elderly, the Geriatric Depression Scale-Short Form-Korean (GDSSF-K) was used. The study subjects were divided into four groups: the normal group, in which both sarcopenia and osteopenia were undiagnosed, osteopenia only, sarcopenia only and the osteosarcopenia group, which was diagnosed with both sarcopenia and osteopenia. Results Of the 885 subjects over 60 years old evaluated, the normal group comprised 34.0%, the only osteopenia group 33.7%, the only sarcopenia group 13.1%, and the osteosarcopenia group 19.2%. WHODAS, Kaigo-Yobo, and GDSSF scores were statistically significantly higher in the osteosarcopenia group compared the other groups. Conclusions Osteosarcopenia is a relatively common disease group in the elderly community that may cause deterioration of health outcomes. Therefore, when evaluating osteopenia or sarcopenia in the elderly, management of those in both disease groups should occur together.