Abstract
The present study explores whether physical frailty and chronological age independently predicts global cognition and everyday cognitive function. Data came from 1,668 community-dwelling older adults in Hong Kong. Physical frailty was measured using the fatigue, resistance, ambulation, illness, and loss of weight and grip strength. Global and everyday cognitive function were measured by Cantonese Chinese Montreal Cognitive Assessment and 4-item short Lawton Instrumental Activities Daily Living scale, respectively. After controlling for education, chronological age explained a larger variance than physical frailty in global cognition in women. Physical frailty, in contrast, had more predictive power than chronological age in estimating everyday cognitive function in both genders. While the unmodifiable chronological age predicts global cognition, physical frailty has a greater contribution to everyday cognitive function. Our findings warrant further investigation of an integrated bio-cognitive model that underpins the linkage between everyday cognition and physical frailty.