The Journal of Nutrition, Health & Aging · 2019

How Much Intake of Sodium Is Good for Frailty?: The Korean Frailty and Aging Cohort Study (KFACS)

By Kim S, Kim M, Min J et al.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine how sodium intake can affect frailty, but not anorexia, in community-dwelling older adults in Korea. DESIGN: This was a cross-sectional study. SETTING: The study used data from the Korean Frailty and Aging Cohort Survey (KFACS), a multi-center longitudinal study addressing 10 centers across urban, rural, and suburban communities in Korea, between 2016 and 2017. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 954 older adults who underwent both 24-hour dietary recall assessment and physical function test during the first-year baseline investigation of the KFACS. MEASUREMENTS: Frailty was determined according to the Fried frailty index (FFI). RESULTS: Of the 954 participants, 461 (48.3%) were male and the mean age was 76.3 years old. The average daily sodium intake was 3857 mg. The frailty prevalence in first to third quartiles was 21.8%, 7.5%, and 5.4%, respectively, and increased in the fourth quartile of sodium intake to 8.9%. Using the second quartile of sodium intake (2504-3575 mg) as reference, the odds ratios of frailty were 1.64 (95% confidence interval: 0.84-3.22), 1.33 (0.57-3.06), and 4.00 (1.72-9.27) for the first (<2504 mg), third (3575-4873 mg), and fourth (≥4873 mg) quartiles, respectively, in a multivariate-adjusted analysis. CONCLUSION: Low sodium intake (<2504 mg) is related to frailty in older people, but it seems to be a less important factor than other nutritional factors. The prevalence of frailty did not increase up to a daily sodium intake of 3575 mg, but it increased upon a daily sodium intake higher than 3575 mg.

doi.org/10.1007/s12603-019-1198-6Open accessPubMed 31233070Populations