Healthcare· 2026Q1
Multidimensional Frailty-Related Vulnerability Profiles Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Data-Driven Cluster Analysis of the 2023 National Survey of Older Koreans
- 0citations
- Q1SCImago
- 2026year
Short summary
A cluster analysis of 9,950 older adults identified two distinct profiles: 70% with lower vulnerability and 30% with multidimensional higher vulnerability, characterized by poorer health, function, cognition, and psychological well-being.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Key points
- Two frailty-related vulnerability profiles were identified in 9,950 older adults: lower vulnerability (70.0%) and multidimensional higher vulnerability (30.0%).
- The higher-vulnerability profile was associated with poorer self-rated health, more chronic diseases, lower physical function, and worse cognitive and psychological states.
- Significant differences between profiles were most pronounced in 300-m walking ability (Cohen's d = 2.013) and stair-climbing ability (Cohen's d = 2.001).
- The identified clusters represent a vulnerability gradient rather than distinct clinical phenotypes.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Frailty-related vulnerability spans health, physical function, health behaviors, cognition, and psychological well-being. A single summary score may not fully convey how these features co-occur within individuals. This study identified data-driven frailty-related profiles among community-dwelling older adults and compared the magnitude of between-profile differences. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional secondary analysis of the 2023 National Survey of Older Koreans. The analytical sample included 9950 participants. Ten indicators—self-rated health, chronic disease count, 1-year weight loss, sleep quality, weekly exercise frequency, fatigue, stair-climbing ability, 300-m walking ability, cognitive function, and depressive symptoms—were standardized and entered into K-means clustering. Candidate solutions for K = 2–10 were evaluated using within-cluster sums of squares and mean silhouette coefficients. Profile characteristics and effect sizes were compared using independent-samples t-tests, Pearson’s chi-squared tests, Cohen’s d, and Cramér’s V. Results: The K = 2 solution had the highest mean silhouette coefficient (0.273) among the candidate solutions, indicating modest separation between clusters. Within the analytical sample, 6962 participants (70.0%) formed a lower-vulnerability profile and 2988 (30.0%) a multidimensional higher-vulnerability profile. The latter profile showed less favorable health, functional, psychological, and cognitive characteristics. Among the cluster-defining indicators, the largest descriptive differences were observed in 300-m walking (d = 2.013) and stair-climbing ability (d = 2.001). Conclusions: The two clusters represented a relative multidimensional vulnerability gradient rather than clearly distinct clinical phenotypes. Although the findings describe co-occurring vulnerability characteristics, their potential clinical utility requires independent and longitudinal validation.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Healthcare, 2026 · DOI ↗
Continue with a free account
Ask the paper: 3 free questions a day about this paper; save it, get its citation, new summaries every day for your field. Takeaways are Premium.
Continue free on the webSign in with Google or Apple; no card needed. You come back to this paper.
On your phone:
Field: Geriatrics and Gerontology
Geriatrics and GerontologyMedicine