Effect of different types of social support on physical frailty development among community-dwelling older adults in Japan: Evidence from a 10-year population-based cohort study

Purpose: Social support is associated with multiple positive health outcomes and is negatively associated with frailty in older adults. However, most evidence came from cross-sectional research. This study aimed to longitudinally explore the relationship between different types of social support and incident physical frailty.

Materials and methods: A 10-year prospective cohort study data from the National Institute for Longevity Sciences - Longitudinal Study of Aging (NILS-LSA) database, from 2000 to 2012 on older adults aged ≥65 years were analyzed excluding those with physical frailty at baseline, missing data, or not attending follow-up. We measured three kinds of social support, whether from within or outside family members, including emotional, instrumental, and negative support. The generalized estimating equation (GEE) model was used to examine the longitudinal relationships between social support and subsequent frailty.

Results: The final analysis included 466 participants, with an average age of 71.3 (standard deviation [SD], 4.3) years and 7.33 years of follow-up (SD, 3.11). GEE analysis showed that emotional and instrumental supports from within and outside family members were associated with a significantly lower risk of physical frailty (odd ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.80 [0.64-1.00] and 0.74 [0.58-0.95]; 0.77 [0.60-0.99] and 0.79 [0.63-0.99], respectively). Both negative support from within or outside family members had no significant relationship with the risk of physical frailty.

Conclusions: This longitudinal study suggested that emotional, and instrumental support both from within or outside family members can reduce future physical frailty among older adults.