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Research Article: Association between malnutrition and cognitive decline in Chinese older adults: the mediating role of physical frailty

Date Published: 2026-06-15

Abstract:
Cognitive decline is a common neurodegenerative disorder in older adults. However, few studies have examined the interrelationships between malnutrition, physical frailty, and cognitive decline. A multi-stage cluster sampling approach was employed to recruit participants, namely older adults aged ?65, from communities in Ningbo, China. The participants’ cognitive decline was evaluated using the Brief Screening Scale for Dementia. Malnutrition and physical frailty were assessed using the Mini Nutritional Assessment – Short Form and the Fatigue, Resistance, Ambulation, Illnesses, and Loss of Weight scale. Logistic regression was conducted to examine the association between malnutrition and cognitive decline, and mediation analysis was performed to assess the mediating role of physical frailty in this association. The validity of the association was tested by performing 1:1 nearest-neighbor propensity score matching (PSM). The prevalence of malnutrition, physical frailty and cognitive decline were 17.04, 32.37 and 13.02%, respectively. The multivariate logistic regression indicated that malnutrition was significantly associated with physical frailty [odds ratio (OR): 1.45, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.29–1.63] and cognitive decline (OR: 3.51, 95% CI: 3.06–4.03). Physical frailty was also significantly associated with cognitive decline (OR: 2.63, 95% CI: 2.31–3.00) and partially mediated the observed linkage between malnutrition and cognitive decline ( ? =?0.012, p <?0.001). The abovementioned results were confirmed by the data analysis performed after PSM. This study found that there was an association between malnutrition and cognitive decline in a sample of community-dwelling older adults in Ningbo, China, and that this association was mediated by physical frailty.

Introduction:
Cognitive decline is a common neurodegenerative disorder in older adults. However, few studies have examined the interrelationships between malnutrition, physical frailty, and cognitive decline.

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