The relationship between objective cognitive performance and physical frailty has been explored in the recent literature and cognitive frailty has emerged as a strong field of study in psychogerontology. However, less is known about the relationship between subjective cognitive status and physical frailty. The aim of this communication is to present the relationships found between subjective cognitive decline and physical frailty in the third wave of the Compostela Aging Study, the first in which frailty status has been studied.

Cognitive and neuropsychological, functional, and affective assessment was conducted with persons over 50 years of age with subjective memory complaints in the health area of Santiago de Compostela. 149 participants who completed the third wave of the study and who did not present dementia or other serious pathologies were selected. Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) was diagnosed according to the current criteria in a special meeting of the research team. In the participants without MCI, the intensity and severity of their complaints were assessed according to the Subjective Cognitive Decline (SCD) criteria. Physical frailty was assessed following the frailty phenotype as described by Fried et al.

Only 4 participants (2.7%) presented physical frailty (3, 4 or 5 criteria in the frailty phenotype). Of those presenting physical pre-frailty (1 or 2 criteria), 36 were MCI (23.8%), 33 SCD (21.9%) and 36 controls. Finally, 40 participants (26.5%) presented no frailty criteria (8 with MCI, 13 with SCD and 19 controls). Participants with SCD and pre-frailty were of intermediate age and they had more years of education than the group with MCI and pre-frailty, although these differences were not significant. They have significantly more symptoms of depression (GDS) and worse mental health status (GHQ-12) than participants without frailty and pre-frailty controls, and more symptoms of anxiety (GAD-7) than participants without frailty.

The relationship between subjective memory complaints and frailty could help to establish groups at special risk of cognitive impairment in phases prior to objective cognitive decline, being these groups particularly optimal targets for preventive intervention. However, a detailed characterization of these subgroups is still required.