Specific cognitive domains and frailty trajectories among older Taiwanese adults.

: To investigate the associations of specific cognitive functions and with the frailty trajectory among older Taiwanese adults. At baseline, 730 community-dwelling older adults were recruited from outpatient clinics of a general hospital. Frailty status was defined using phenotype criteria. Global cognition was assessed using the modified Telephone Interview of Cognitive Status and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). The Mattis Dementia Rating Scale (MDRS) and Digit Symbol Substitution Test were used to evaluate 6 cognitive domains: attention, initiation/perseveration, construction, conceptualization, memory, and processing speed. The group-based trajectory model was used to identify latent frailty trajectory groups and the multinomial logistic regression was to examine the relationships of specific cognitive functions with frailty trajectory. Among 485 participants (168 men, 317 women, and mean age: 71.1 ± 5.5 years) completed 2 annual follow-up assessments, three frailty trajectory groups of improvement, no-change, and progression were identified. After adjusting for baseline frailty status, age, sex, global cognition, regular exercise habit, and number of comorbidities, higher scores on MDRS's initiation/perseveration (odds ratio [OR] = 0.85; 95% CI = 0.75-0.95) and attention (OR = 0.63; 95% CI = 0.38-1.00), respectively, were significantly associated with lower risk of frailty progression. Conversely, no significant association was detected between MMSE or TICSM scores and frailty improvement or progression. Specific cognitive functions of initiation/perseveration and attention, rather than global cognition, may be more useful to predict frailty progression, thus allowing the identification of at-risk older adults.