Advances in research, education and practice in geriatric medicine, 1982-2012 (original) (raw)

The Asia-Pacific Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Management of Frailty

Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, 2017

To develop Clinical Practice Guidelines for the screening, assessment and management of the geriatric condition of frailty. An adapted Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation approach was used to develop the guidelines. This process involved detailed evaluation of the current scientific evidence paired with expert panel interpretation. Three categories of Clinical Practice Guidelines recommendations were developed: strong, conditional, and no recommendation. Strong recommendations were (1) use a validated measurement tool to identify frailty; (2) prescribe physical activity with a resistance training component; and (3) address polypharmacy by reducing or deprescribing any inappropriate/superfluous medications. Conditional recommendations were (1) screen for, and address modifiable causes of fatigue; (2) for persons exhibiting unintentional weight loss, screen for reversible causes and consider food fortification and protein/caloric supplementation; and (3...

Frailty and geriatric syndromes in elderly assisted in primary health care

Acta Scientiarum. Health Sciences, 2016

The aim of this study was to describe the association between frailty and geriatric syndromes (GS) [cognitive impairment (CI); postural instability (PI); urinary/fecal incontinence (UFI); polypharmacy (PP); and immobility (IM)] and the frequency of these conditions in elderly people assisted in primary health care. Five hundred twenty-one elderly participants of The Multidimensional Study of the Elderly in the Family Health Strategy (EMI-SUS) were evaluated. Sociodemographic data, identification of frailty (Fried phenotype) and GS were collected. Multinomial logistic regression analysis was performed. The frequency of frailty was 21.5%, prefrailty 51.1% and robustness 27.4%. The frequency of CI was 54.7%, PP 41.2%, PI 36.5%, UFI 14% and IM 5.8%. The odds of frailty when compared to robustness and adjusted for gender, age, depression, selfperception of health, nutritional status, falls, vision and hearing, was significantly higher in elderly with CI, PI and PP. The adjusted odds of prefrail when compared to robustness was significantly higher only in elderly with CI. The most frequently presented number of GS (0-5) was two geriatric syndromes (26.87%). The frequency of frailty was high among elderly in primary health care and was associated with three of five GS (CI-PI-PP).

Frailty and geriatric syndromes in elderly assisted in primary health care

Acta Scientiarum. Health Sciences, 2016

The aim of this study was to describe the association between frailty and geriatric syndromes (GS) [cognitive impairment (CI); postural instability (PI); urinary/fecal incontinence (UFI); polypharmacy (PP); and immobility (IM)] and the frequency of these conditions in elderly people assisted in primary health care. Five hundred twenty-one elderly participants of The Multidimensional Study of the Elderly in the Family Health Strategy (EMI-SUS) were evaluated. Sociodemographic data, identification of frailty (Fried phenotype) and GS were collected. Multinomial logistic regression analysis was performed. The frequency of frailty was 21.5%, prefrailty 51.1% and robustness 27.4%. The frequency of CI was 54.7%, PP 41.2%, PI 36.5%, UFI 14% and IM 5.8%. The odds of frailty when compared to robustness and adjusted for gender, age, depression, selfperception of health, nutritional status, falls, vision and hearing, was significantly higher in elderly with CI, PI and PP. The adjusted odds of prefrail when compared to robustness was significantly higher only in elderly with CI. The most frequently presented number of GS (0-5) was two geriatric syndromes (26.87%). The frequency of frailty was high among elderly in primary health care and was associated with three of five GS (CI-PI-PP).

The Clinical Care of Frail, Older Adults

Frailty and its management represent an emerging area of clinical care in older adults. Geriatricians have long recognized a syndrome of multiple comorbid conditions, immobility, weakness, and poor tolerance of physiologic stressors in older adults. 1 Patients with these characteristics are described as frail and suffer increased adverse clinical outcomes, such as acute illness, falls, disability, institutionalization, and death. 2 Recent advances in research have better characterized frailty syndrome and its pathophysiology, including the dysregulation of homeostasis in musculoskeletal, neuroendocrine, and immune systems. Although curative treatments for frailty are currently unavailable, exercise intervention and geriatric interdisciplinary assessment and treatment models can improve clinical outcomes in this patient population. Given the high morbidity and mortality secondary to frailty, increased awareness of this syndrome, its early diagnosis, and therefore, timely implementation of beneficial interventions are essential in improving health outcomes in affected older adults.

Need for comprehensive management of frailty at an individual level: European perspective from the advantage joint action on frailty

Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine, 2020

ADVANTAGE Joint Action is a project co-founded by the European Commission and the Member States, with the aim of building a common understanding of frailty on which to base an approach for older people who are frail or at risk. Based on a systematic review of the literature, including grey literature and good practice, where possible, this paper proposes some key interventions to tackle frailty. Prevention should be based on a multifaceted approach, addressing factors that have resonance across the individual's life course. All older people (over 70 years of age) should be offered a screening test and, if positive, referred for diagnosis. The management of frailty must be based on comprehensive geriatric assessment, to enable effective planning. Multicomponent exercise programmes, adequate protein and vitamin D intake, when insufficient, as well as reduction in poly pharmacy and inadequate prescription are the most effective strategies to manage frailty. Objectives: ADVANTAGE Joint Action is a large collaborative project co-founded by the European Commission and its Member States to build a common understanding of frailty for Member States on which to base a common management approach for older people who are frail or at risk of developing frailty. One of the key objectives of the project is presented in this paper; how to manage frailty at the individual level. Methods: A systematic review of the literature was conducted, including grey literature and good practices when possible. Results: The management of frailty should be directed towards comprehensive and holistic treatment in multiple and related fields. Prevention requires a multifaceted approach addressing factors that have resonance across the individual's life course. Comprehensive geriatric assessment to diagnose the condition and plan a personalized multidomain treat ment improves outcomes. Multicomponent exercise programmes, adequate protein and vitamin D intake, when insufficient, and reduction in polypharmacy and inadequate prescription, are the most effective strategies found in the literature to manage frailty effectively. Conclusion: Frailty can be effectively prevented and managed with a multidomain intervention strategy based on comprehensive geriatric assessment.

Frailty: implications for clinical practice and public health

The Lancet, 2019

Frailty is an emerging global health burden, with major implications for clinical practice and public health. The prevalence of frailty is expected to rise alongside rapid growth in the ageing population. The course of frailty is characterised by a decline in functioning across multiple physiological systems, accompanied by an increased vulnerability to stressors. Having frailty places a person at increased risk of adverse outcomes, including falls, hospitalisation, and mortality. Studies have shown a clear pattern of increased health-care costs and use associated with frailty. All older adults are at risk of developing frailty, although risk levels are substantially higher among those with comorbidities, low socioeconomic position, poor diet, and sedentary lifestyles. Lifestyle and clinical risk factors are potentially modifiable by specific interventions and preventive actions. The concept of frailty is increasingly being used in primary, acute, and specialist care. However, despite efforts over the past three decades, agreement on a standard instrument to identify frailty has not yet been achieved. In this Series paper, we provide an overview of the global impact and burden of frailty, the usefulness of the frailty concept in clinical practice, potential targets for frailty prevention, and directions that need to be explored in the future.

Ageing and Care for Frail Elderly Persons

OECD Labour Market and Social Policy Occasional Papers, 1999

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Critical Appraisal of the Concept Frailty: Rating of Frailty in Elderly People has Weak Scientific Basis and should not be Used for Managing Individual Patients

Aging and Disease, 2023

The concept frail elderly has been used to highlight the biological, rather than chronological, age. International and national bodies recommend that individuals over age 70 who visit healthcare facilities should be screened for frailty. There are important objections to the concept. Diagnostics: 'Frailty' is used for several completely different types of health problems. There are no useful biomarkers, but more than 60 different published rating methods for frailty, where different methods provide very different prevalence of frailty and also do not identify the same groups of elderly people. There is significant overlap between Clinical Frailty Scalescores and activity of daily living (ADL)-scores. There is no gold standard method against which published frailty rating scales can be validated. It is unclear when, where and how often screening for frailty should occur in healthcare. Treatment: The evidence for treatment of frailty is very weak. A recent systematic overview found that the 21 included randomised, controlled studies (RCTs) were very heterogeneous as regards inclusion/exclusion criteria, how the condition of frailty was defined, what treatment was given and what health outcomes were assessed. In addition, there are often problems with the quality of the studies. The lack of a clear definition and evidence-based treatment of frailty means that it is inappropriate to introduce assessments of frailty in individual elderly patients in health care