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Background: Functional teeth are important for maintaining appropriate masticatory function and nutritional intake, affecting physical function in older adults. This study aimed to evaluate the association between number of functional teeth and physical function in community-dwelling older Korean adults., Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among a total of 2,527 participants (mean age, 76.5 ± 3.9; 53.4% women) who were enrolled in the Korean Frailty and Aging Cohort Study (2016-2017). Participants were categorized based on the number of functional teeth into two groups: < 20 and ≥ 20 functional teeth. Functional teeth were defined as the remaining natural teeth with visible crowns, with or without restorations, prosthetic pontics, or dental implants on panoramic radiography. Physical function was assessed using handgrip strength, gait speed, five-times sit-to-stand test (5TSTS) duration, and the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) score. Multivariate linear and logistic regression models were used to evaluate the association between number of functional teeth and physical function., Results: Of all the participants, 869 (34.3%) had < 20 functional teeth. After full adjustment for sociodemographic factors, lifestyle, health condition, and oral health, an increase in one functional tooth was associated with a corresponding increase in gait speed (men: B = 0.002, p = 0.032; women: B = 0.002, p = 0.013) and SPPB (men: B = 0.019, p < 0.001; women: B = 0.018, p < 0.001) in both men and women. The time taken for the 5TSTS was shorter for an increase in one more functional tooth (men, B=-0.033, p = 0.006; women, B=-0.036, p = 0.021) in both men and women. An increase in one functional tooth was associated with a corresponding increase in handgrip strength only in men (men, B = 0.049, p = 0.009; women, B=-0.003, p = 0.814). The associations between < 20 functional teeth and low handgrip strength [odds ratio (OR) = 1.46, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.03-2.06], long 5TSTS duration (OR = 1.47, 95% CI: 1.07-2.02), and low SPPB scores (OR = 1.64, 95% CI: 1.07-2.53) were significant in fully adjusted model compared with ≥ 20 functional teeth only in men., Conclusions: Fewer functional teeth were associated with low physical function in older adults. Our results emphasize the importance of maintaining adequate functional teeth to preserve physical function in community-dwelling older adults., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: Ethical approval for the KFACS protocol was obtained from the Clinical Research Ethics Committee of Kyung Hee University (Institutional Review Board [IRB] number: 2015-12-103). The current investigation was deemed exempt from further review by the Clinical Research Ethics Committee of Kyung Hee University Medical Center (IRB number: 2024-08-011), which was conducted in compliance with the guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki. All participants provided written informed consent. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Aim: Physical frailty and sarcopenia are geriatric syndromes associated with adverse health outcomes. However, the common and different conditions associated with physical frailty and sarcopenia remain unclear. This study aimed to compare the clinical characteristics of older adults with physical frailty and sarcopenia. Methods: This cross‐sectional study analyzed 2028 community‐dwelling older adults, aged 70–84 years (mean age 75.9 ± 4.0 years; 50.1% men). Physical frailty was defined using the Fried frailty phenotype, whereas sarcopenia was defined using the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia 2014 and 2019 criteria. Results: The prevalence of physical frailty was 5.5%, whereas that of sarcopenia, using the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia 2014 and 2019, was 9.1% and 17.5%, respectively. The concordance of physical frailty with sarcopenia was higher in the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia 2019 criteria than in 2014. Frail‐only participants had a higher incidence of disability, cognitive dysfunction, poor self‐perceived health, and depressive symptoms than the sarcopenic‐only participants. Frail‐and‐sarcopenic participants showed a lower body mass index (≥23 kg/m2) than frail‐only participants. Furthermore, in frail‐and‐sarcopenic participants, recurrent falls (16.9% vs 5.5%) were higher than in the neither‐frail‐nor‐sarcopenic participants; falls with fracture (11.5% vs 1.7%) and fear of falling (59.0% vs 36.7%) were higher in frail‐and‐sarcopenic participants than in sarcopenic‐only participants. Conclusions: This study showed significant differences between physical frailty and sarcopenia among community‐dwelling older adults. Older adults with physical frailty and sarcopenia were more likely to have higher fall‐related outcomes than the others. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2022; 22: 42–49. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]