Marital satisfaction and its impact on frailty in Korean older adults: a longitudinal analysis

Background: Despite a wealth of literature on marital dissatisfaction and adverse health outcomes, little is known about the relationship between marital dissatisfaction and frailty in older adults. Methods: This longitudinal study utilised the data of 11 174 individuals who participated in the biennial Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing survey from 2006 to 2020 and were aged ≥45 during the initial wave. Frailty was measured using a frailty instrument, which utilised exhaustion, social isolation, and handgrip strength weakness. Marital dissatisfaction was defined as a decrease in marital satisfaction of at least 10 points compared to the previous wave. Lagged generalised estimating equation analyses were conducted to investigate the impact of marital dissatisfaction on frailty. Results: Frail participants were more likely to be older, female, have higher rates of depression, lower socioeconomic status (as indicated by lower household income and education level), and with more comorbidities. Multivariate logistic model analysis revealed that individuals who became dissatisfied with their marriage had higher odds ratios for being frail than those who did not, and this trend was true in women and individuals with a low socioeconomic status. However, the development of frailty was not significantly associated with dissatisfaction with marriage. Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest that marital dissatisfaction is a robust predictor of frailty in older adults. Efforts aimed at addressing marital dissatisfaction have the potential to prevent frailty in women and individuals of low socioeconomic status.