Moses Wong

AIM: We examined the incidence and the reversibility of sarcopenia and their associated factors over a 4-year period using the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP) criteria. METHODS: A total of 4000 community-dwelling older adults aged ≥ 65 years were evaluated for which detailed information regarding demographics, socioeconomic, medical history, lifestyle, and clinical factors were documented at baseline, 2 years, and 4 years later. Sarcopenia was defined according to the EWGSOP algorithm. Incident sarcopenia and its reversibility were documented at each follow-up year, and related to possible factors. RESULTS: At baseline, of the 4000 participants, 361(9.0%) had sarcopenia. Between baseline and 2-year follow-up, 6.0% of the participants without sarcopenia at baseline had developed sarcopenia, and 18.8% of the initially sarcopenic participants had reverted to normal.Between baseline and 4-year follow-up, the corresponding figures were 6.3% and 14.1%, respectively. The average annual incidence over 4 years was 3.1%. After multivariate adjustments, older age, female sex, presence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, presence of stroke, lower physical activity levels, presence of instrumental activities of daily living impairments, and lower body mass index were associated with incident sarcopenia, whereas younger age, female sex, higher body mass index and absence of instrumental activities of daily living impairments, but not physical activity,were associated with its reversibility. Protein and vitamin D intake were not significantly associated with sarcopenia incidence or its reversibility [corrected]. CONCLUSION: Sarcopenia incidence increases with age, but is potentially reversible in a Chinese elderly population. High body mass index is protective against sarcopenia incidence and its reversibility. Increasing physical activity and maintaining a healthy weight could be beneficial in the prevention of sarcopenia.

BACKGROUND: To date, few studies address disparities in older populations specifically using frailty as one of the health outcomes and examining the relative contributions of individual and environmental factors to health outcomes. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Using a data set from a health survey of 4,000 people aged 65 years and over living in all regions of Hong Kong, we examined regional variations in self-rated health, frailty, and four-year mortality, and analyzed the relative contributions of lifestyle, socioeconomic status, and geographical location of residence to these outcomes using path analysis. We hypothesize that lifestyle, socioeconomic status, and regional characteristics directly and indirectly through interactions contribute to self-rated physical and psychological health, frailty, and four-year mortality. District variations directly affect self-rated physical health, and also exert an effect through socioeconomic position as well as lifestyle factors. Socioeconomic position in turn directly affects self-rated physical health, as well as indirectly through lifestyle factors. A similar pattern of interaction is observed for self-rated mental health, frailty, and mortality, although there are differences in different lifestyle factors and district associations. Lifestyle factors also directly affect physical and mental components of health, frailty, and mortality. The magnitude of direct district effect is comparable to those of lifestyle and socioeconomic position. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: We conclude that district variations in health outcomes exist in the Hong Kong elderly population, and these variations result directly from district factors, and are also indirectly mediated through socioeconomic position as well as lifestyle. Provision and accessibility to health services are unlikely to play a significant role. Future studies on these district factors would be important in reducing health disparities in the older population.

Background: there is little evidence to suggest that older people today are living in better health than their predecessors did at the same age. Only a few studies have evaluated whether there are birth cohort effects on frailty, an indicator of health in older people, encompassing physical, functional and mental health dimensions. Objectives: this study examined longitudinal trajectories of frailty among Chinese older people in Hong Kong. Methods: this study utilised data from the 18 Elderly Health Centres of the Department of Health comprising a total of 417,949 observations from 94,550 community-dwelling Chinese people aged ≥65 years in one early birth cohort (1901-23) and four later birth cohorts (1924-29, 1930-35, 1936-41, 1942-47) collected between 2001 and 2012, to examine trajectories of the frailty index and how birth cohorts may have contributed to the trends using an age-period-cohort analysis. Results: more recent cohorts had higher levels of frailty than did earlier cohorts at the same age, controlling for period, gender, marital status, educational levels, socioeconomic status, lifestyle and social factors. Older age, being female, widowhood, lower education and smoking were associated with higher levels of frailty. Conclusion: more recent cohorts had higher levels of frailty than did earlier cohorts. Frailty interventions, coupled with early detection, should be developed to combat the increasing rates of frailty in Hong Kong Chinese.