Oral Presentation Australian and New Zealand Society for Geriatric Medicine Annual Scientific Meeting 2026

Understanding the connection between frailty and dementia in older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Peoples – the Let’s CHAT Dementia study (#7)

Caitriona J Bennett 1 , Zoë Hyde 2 3 , Jesse Zanker 1 , Huong Nguyen 1 , Kate Smith 2 , Kate Bradley 1 , Harry Douglas 1 , Jo-anne Hughson 1 , Rosyln Malay 2 3 , Rachel Quigley 4 5 , Kylie Radford 6 7 8 , Sarah Russell 4 5 , Robyn Smith 1 , Freda Werdinger 1 , Edward Strivens 4 5 , Leon Flicker 3 , Dina Lo Giudice 1
  1. Department of Medicine and Aged Care, Royal Melbourne Hospital, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
  2. Boola Boola Djinda, Medical School, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia
  3. Western Australian Centre for Health and Ageing, Medical School, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia
  4. College of Medicine and Dentsirt, James Cook University, Cairns, QLD, Australia
  5. Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service, , Cairns, QLD, Australia
  6. Ageing Futures Institute, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  7. Neuroscience Research Australia, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  8. School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia

Aims: To describe the prevalence and associations of frailty and dementia in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults aged 50 years and older.

Methods: Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) data were used from the nested case–control component of the Let’s CHAT Dementia study, conducted in four Australian states and involving twelve Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services. A cumulative frailty index (CFI) comprising 35 variables was developed using standard protocol. Dementia and cognitive impairment not dementia (CIND) were diagnosed by two independent geriatricians. Participant characteristics were summarised by descriptive statistics and groups were compared by inferential statistics. Generalised ordinal logistic regression examined associations between CFI and cognitive diagnoses. The research adhered to Indigenous Data Governance principles and analyses were conducted using Stata/BE version19.15.

Results: Of 84 adults, with a median age of 74.0 [interquartile range 64.5 to 78.0] years and 54.7% women, those living with frailty (CFI>0.2) were significantly older, and had higher prevalence of malnourishment, polypharmacy, and sarcopenia (p<0.05). All participants diagnosed with dementia were also living with frailty (n=17). With each 0.1-unit increase in the CFI, the odds of having a dementia diagnosis compared to intact cognition or CIND was 2.09 (95% confidence interval 1.30, 3.38).

Conclusions: Assessment and management of both dementia and frailty in older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults should consider the common co-existence of these conditions to inform strengths-based, culturally grounded and holistic models of care.