Establishment of a Mandarin Chinese Version of the Oral Frailty Index-8 and Exploration of the Association Between Oral Frailty and Sarcopenia

Objective: The aim of our study was to introduce a Mandarin Chinese version of the oral frailty assessment and explore the relationship between oral frailty and sarcopenia. A total of 409 elders (171 male, 238 female) participated in surveys using the Mandarin Chinese version of the Oral Frailty Index-8 (OFI-8) in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Method: The translation of the Mandarin Chinese version of OFI-8 adhered to the Consensus-based Standards for the Selection of Health Measurement Instruments (COSMIN) reporting guidelines. The eight-item questionnaire assessed tooth status, oral function, and other subjective measures. Additionally, sarcopenia was evaluated using the SARC-F questionnaire. Result: Among the participants, 195 participants were classified as non-oral frailty and 214 participants were oral frailty. Significant differences were observed in age, gender, body mass index (BMI), education level, and scores on the SARC-F questionnaire between the non-oral frailty and oral frailty populations. In logistic regression model, oral frailty showed a significant and positive association with the SARC-F score (adjusted odds ratio 2.130, 95% confidence interval 1.580–2.872, p-value < 0.001), even after adjusting for age, gender, BMI, and education level. Conclusion: This study has developed a valuable Mandarin Chinese version of the oral frailty screening questionnaire, the OFI-8. Oral frailty is significantly and positively associated with a higher risk of sarcopenia, particularly among the elderly, males, and those with lower education levels. This measure proves to be practical for assessing oral health status in the Chinese community, promoting oral frailty research within the Mandarin Chinese population, and addressing the challenges associated with defining oral frailty in future studies.