The Frailty Syndrome: Definition and Natural History

Overview

Journal Clin Geriatr Med

Specialty Geriatrics

Date 2010 Nov 25

PMID 21093718

Citations 688

Authors

Qian-Li Xue

Affiliations

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Abstract

This article reviews the current state of knowledge regarding the epidemiology of frailty by focusing on 6 specific areas: (1) clinical definitions of frailty, (2) evidence of frailty as a medical syndrome, (3) prevalence and incidence of frailty by age, gender, race, and ethnicity, (4) transitions between discrete frailty states, (5) natural history of manifestations of frailty criteria, and (6) behavior modifications as precursors to the development of clinical frailty.

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