Frailty - Literature - Morley et al (2013)

[andkov]

• Morley, J. E., Vellas, B., van Kan, G. A., Anker, S. D., Bauer, J. M., Bernabei, R., ... & Fried, L. P. (2013). Frailty consensus: a call to action. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, 14(6), 392-397.

[andkov]

Frailty is either physical or psychological or a combination of the 2 components, and is a dynamic condition that can improve or worsen over time

Two main approaches:

• Frailty Index - (Rockwood & Mitnitski, 2011) - aka Deficit Model , adding the number of impairments and conditions
• Frailty Phenotype - (Fried at al, 2004) - 3 out of 5 : weight loss, exhaustion, weakness, slowness, and reduced physical activity.

Rockwood, K., & Mitnitski, A. (2011). Frailty defined by deficit accumulation and geriatric medicine defined by frailty. Clinics in geriatric medicine, 27(1), 17-26.

Fried, L. P., Ferrucci, L., Darer, J., Williamson, J. D., & Anderson, G. (2004). Untangling the concepts of disability, frailty, and comorbidity: implications for improved targeting and care. The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, 59(3), M255-M263.

[andkov]

Consensus of expert conference on FRAILTY

• A clinical syndrome • Not disability • Increased vulnerability in which minimal stress can cause functional impairment • Might be reversible or attenuated by interventions • Mandatory for health workers to detect as soon as possible • Useful in primary and community care

However, no agreement on a single operational definition

A major finding:

must distinguish between a broader definition (general stae or condition of a individual) and a more specific medical syndrome: physical frailty

This papers deals with physical frailty

[andkov]

Definition of FRAILTY

“A medical syndrome with multiple causes and contributors that is characterized by diminished strength, endurance, and reduced physiologic function that increases an individual’s vulnerability for developing increased dependency and/or death.”