Association Between Social Frailty and Satisfaction With the Outcomes of Social Activities in Community-Dwelling Older Adults in Japan: A Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND

Social frailty is characterised by a decline in social resources, engagement in social activities and self-management capacity. Reduced subjective satisfaction with the outcomes of social activities is associated with social frailty. However, existing instruments do not adequately capture this dimension, and few studies have reported differences in satisfaction by severity of social frailty. The Social Activities-Related Daily Life Satisfaction Scale (SARDLSS) provides a more comprehensive measure. We investigated the association between social frailty and satisfaction with the outcomes of social activities among community-dwelling older adults in Japan.

METHODS

This cross-sectional analysis included community-dwelling adults aged ≥ 65 years who participated in a community health survey. Social frailty was assessed using the Makizako Social Frailty Index and stratified into robust, pre-social frailty and social frailty. Satisfaction with the outcomes of social activities was quantified using the SARDLSS. Group differences were examined, and ordinal logistic regression models were fitted to estimate the association between social frailty status and satisfaction with the outcomes of social activities, adjusting for confounding factors, including age, walking speed and cognitive function.

RESULTS

A total of 141 participants were included in the analysis; 27.7% were robust, 36.9% had pre-social frailty and 35.4% had social frailty. Ordinal logistic regression analyses indicated that higher satisfaction was independently associated with lower odds of belonging to a more severe social frailty category after adjusting for potential confounders (odds ratio = 0.95, 95% confidence interval: 0.91-0.98, p = 0.004). Domain-level analyses corroborated this pattern, with satisfaction with friendships, health and physical fitness and contributions to others and society showing significant associations with social frailty status.

CONCLUSION

Social frailty among community-dwelling older adults was associated with their satisfaction with the outcomes of social activities. Addressing both quantitative and qualitative aspects of social engagement is warranted for preventing or mitigating social frailty.