Older Men Living with Spouse and Older Women Living with Spouse and Children Have Lower Frailty Prevalence: The Korean Frailty and Aging Cohort Study (KFACS)

Background: In older adults, the risk of frailty is higher among those who are unmarried than among those who are married. However, no study has reported about the relationship between cohabitation status and frailty. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 2,128 community-dwelling adults aged between 70 and 84 years who underwent interviews and physical function assessments for the Korean Frailty and Aging Cohort Study. The definition of frailty was derived from the Fried frailty phenotype. Cohabitation was categorized as "living alone", "with spouse only", "with children only", and "with spouse and children". Results: The mean age was 76 years, and 46.3% of the adults were men. After adjusting for age, education, income, nutritional status, alcohol, smoking history, Geriatric Depression Scale, Mini-Mental State Examination, Korean Activities of Daily Living, Korean Instrumental Activities of Daily Living, urinary incontinence, and polypharmacy, the odds ratios of frailty were 0.323 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.137-0.763; p<0.001) and 1.089 (95% CI, 0.671-1.769; p=0.730) for men and women living with a spouse, respectively. The odds ratios of frailty were 0.329 (95% CI, 0.117-0.927; p=0.035) and 0.332 (95% CI, 0.123-0.891; p=0.029) for men and women living with spouse and children, respectively. Conclusion: Men living with a spouse or with a spouse and children had a lowered prevalence of frailty, and women living with a spouse and children together had a lowered prevalence of frailty.