South Korean Elderly Healthier... Frailty Halved in 10 Years

Seoul Asan Hospital Geriatrics Department Professor Heewon Jeong's Team
Study on 17,000 People Aged 65 and Older

A study has found that although the number of elderly people suffering from chronic diseases has increased, the proportion of those enjoying healthy old age has also risen.

Professor Jeong Heewon of the Geriatrics Department at Seoul Asan Medical Center and Professor Kang Mingu of the Geriatrics Department at Bitgoeul Jeonnam National University Hospital analyzed the health trends of over 17,000 elderly people aged 65 and older from 2008 to 2020. They revealed that while the prevalence of chronic diseases nearly doubled over the past 12 years, the rate of frailty decreased by about half.

Frailty, also known as weakness, refers to a state where accumulated aging and diseases cause functional decline, making one vulnerable to stress. It is known that irregular lifestyle habits, unmanaged diseases or medication use, and decreased physical activity increase the risk of frailty.

The research team used the National Health Insurance database to analyze the annual frailty index of 17,784 elderly individuals aged 65 and above from 2008 to 2020. The frailty index was measured by evaluating over 30 items across four areas: comorbidities, functional performance, signs and symptoms, and laboratory values. Based on the frailty index, individuals were classified into healthy stage, pre-frailty stage, and frailty stage.

First, the average annual frailty index decreased from 0.23 points in 2008 to 0.18 points in 2020. A frailty index of 0.2 or higher is considered the pre-frailty stage, characterized by somewhat slower walking speed due to aging and chronic diseases, a slightly stooped back, and some muscle loss.

Additionally, comparing the proportion of frail elderly by year showed a decrease from 41.1% in 2008 to 23.1% in 2020, roughly halving. The proportion of non-frail and healthy elderly increased significantly from 28.7% in 2008 to 44.2% in 2020.

Factors influencing frailty also changed over the 12 years. The prevalence of dyslipidemia rose from 17.9% in 2008 to 40.9% in 2020, diabetes from 20.6% to 30.0%, and cardiovascular disease from 5.6% to 9.3%, showing an overall increasing trend in chronic disease prevalence.

However, the proportion of elderly experiencing difficulty chewing decreased from 59.4% in 2008 to 33.1% in 2020. The rate of difficulty in daily activities dropped from 42.2% to 12.0%, and smokers decreased from 17.0% to 9.3%.

Professor Jeong Heewon of Seoul Asan Medical Center’s Geriatrics Department stated, "Although the proportion of those with chronic diseases has increased, many elderly maintain an active daily life similar to when they were younger. Improved medical accessibility and increased interest in health have greatly helped in taking appropriate treatment and preventive measures for diseases."

Meanwhile, the results of this study were recently published in the international journal of the Korean Medical Association.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.