Frailty and pre-frailty in community-dwelling older adults

Frailty, a condition indicating vulnerability to health decline, was studied in 19,114 healthy older adults in Australia and the US. Among them, 2%-11% were frail depending on the assessment tool, and about 40% were pre-frail at the study’s beginning. It examined impact of frailty on heart disease, dementia, physical disability, and mortality over a five-year period. Depression and polypharmacy (taking five or more medications) emerged as potentially modifiable factors, with polypharmacy being associated with more pre-frailty/frailty. Being pre-frail/frail was associated with higher risks of death, heart disease, dementia, and independence-limiting physical disability. Early identification of pre-frail/frail individuals could inform new strategies for healthy aging.