About this Research Topic

Background

In the study of aging, ‘frailty’ is the state that increases the individual's vulnerability to develop dependence and/or increase mortality when exposed to stress factors. In the context of geriatrics and biomedical sciences, the concept of frailty has been operationalized differently, and the most used is the frailty phenotype, characterized by the presence of weight loss, low energy, slow mobility, muscle weakness and/or low level of physical activity. However, different constructs have emerged in recent decades complementing the traditional one of physical frailty. From a biopsychosocial, gerontological perspective, multidimensional and dynamic perspectives that include physical, functional, cognitive, and psychosocial domains (e.g. cumulative deficit model) are more relevant.

As people age and become frailer, their psychological and social circumstances seem to have a more direct impact on their health. For example, the concept of ‘cognitive frailty’ includes the presence of physical frailty and mild cognitive impairment in the absence of dementia and/or disability. If we consider frailty syndrome at a physical, cognitive, and social level, ‘social frailty’ would be the risk of losing important resources (e.g., social support, cohesive activities, and social participation) in the aging process to meet key social needs for human development. This lack of cognitive and social resources in old age can be accompanied by a withdrawal of vitality, as well as a loss in the meaning of life and in the will to live. Thus, psychological frailty (understood as a decrease in cognitive, social, and "transcendental" resources) would increase a person's vulnerability to develop dependence and/or increase mortality when exposed to stress. In this way, there is no subordination between physical, cognitive, and social areas, but rather these depend on different, interrelated developmental trajectories throughout the lifespan, according to each person’s circumstances.

Similarly, the health crisis of COVID-19, as well as the psychosocial risks associated with the measures that governments around the world have been forced to adopt to stop the spread of the virus, could have a significant impact directly on physical health and frailty, and indirectly (as a consequence of restrictions in mobility, activity, and social and family relationships, isolation, increased difficulties in performing physical exercise, delay in access to services health, among others).

Therefore, the aim of this Research Topic is to welcome articles highlighting the emerging risks of frailty in aging (including cognitive, psychological, and social frailty), as well as to illuminate new research focusing on life trajectories. Further, we aim to analyze the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic and measures to alleviate it have had on the condition of frailty of older people.

We welcome the following manuscript types: Original Research, Systematic Review, Methods, Review, Policy and Practice Reviews, Hypothesis and Theory, Perspective, Clinical Trial, Case Report, Community Case Study, Conceptual Analysis, Data Report, Policy and Practice Reviews, Brief Research Report, Registered Report, and Study Protocol.

Keywords: ageing, biopsychosocial frailty, cognitive frailty, social isolation, COVID-19

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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