Use of Dementia Assessment Sheet for Community-based Integrated Care System 8-items (DASC-8) for the screening of frailty and components of comprehensive geriatric assessment.

AIM We examined whether the Dementia Assessment Sheet for Community-based Integrated Care System 8-items (DASC-8) is useful for screening frailty and as a comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA). METHODS Outpatients (N = 431; 269 women; Mage = 78.9 ± 6.8 years) with cardiometabolic disease from a frailty clinic participated. Frailty status was assessed using modified Cardiovascular Health Study criteria, the Clinical Frailty Scale and the Kihon Checklist. Cognition, higher-level activities of daily living, sarcopenia, physical activities, depression, nutrition, medication adherence, social network and quality of life were assessed as CGA components. We examined the association of DASC-8 category with frailty or CGA components using multiple logistic regression analyses, adjusted for age and sex. RESULTS Most participants (n = 310, 71.9%) were in Category I, 90 (20.9%) were in Category II and 31 (7.1%) were in Category III. There were no significant differences in sex, body mass index, or past medical history, except regarding age or cerebral infarction. Logistic regression analyses showed that, for all definitions of frailty, the odds ratios of frailty significantly increased as category progressed. Cognitive function, higher-level activities of daily living, handgrip strength, gait speed, physical activities, medication adherence, social network and quality of life decreased as the category increased. Although depressive tendency increased in Category II, there was no significant difference in muscle mass or prevalence of sarcopenia among the categories. Malnutrition was observed in Category III. CONCLUSIONS DASC-8 category was associated with frailty and several CGA components in older patients with cardiometabolic disease. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2020; ••: ••-••.