About this Research Topic
Frailty is a condition/phenotype of decreased functional capacities across multiple bio-physiological indicators as a person ages. Older adults, in many instances, can suffer from frailty syndromes and their consequence of poor health, including e.g. increased risk of falls, disabled mobility, etc. The appropriate characterization of frailty and its related physical and mental components is thus of great importance to help predict the risk of frailty syndromes, and to optimize management and rehabilitation programs. The ultimate goals is to minimize the burden of frailty in older adults.
The frailty syndromes are generally measured by using different established protocols, such as Fried’s Frailty Criteria, and conceptualized by simply accumulating the measured syndromes. Recent research works have shown that frailty not only arises from diminished physical function, but also from multiple other types of functional decline, such as cognitive impairment, and abnormalities in vascular system (e.g., hypertension). Moreover, these conditions are not distinct or isolated from each other, but closely interact and interconnected. These interactions may play critical roles in the development of frailty. Therefore, it is worthwhile to re-conceptualize “frailty” by implementing advanced technologies to measure the characteristics of functions that are pertaining to frailty, and to explore the inter-relationships between them. Thus, we can discover novel indicators to predict frailty and can develop novel strategies to optimize the management and rehabilitation of frailty.
The overall goal of this research topic is to share and discuss recent achievements on understanding the pathology of frailty and its related bio-physiological characteristics, to identify novel indicators that can help predict the incidence of frailty, and to help optimize strategies for the prevention and management of frailty in aging population.
We are welcome the following specific topics:
• Characterization of the association between both physical and mental (e.g., cognitive function) characteristics pertaining to the development of frailty syndromes;
• Identification of novel metrics that can predict the risk of the development of frailty syndromes;
• Novel conceptualization of frailty;
• Novel rehabilitative strategies, management protocol for older adults suffering from frailty.
Original Research, Review Papers, Brief Research Report, Methods Papers, General Commentary covering topics ranging from basic to translational-clinical research in this field are welcomed.
The frailty syndromes are generally measured by using different established protocols, such as Fried’s Frailty Criteria, and conceptualized by simply accumulating the measured syndromes. Recent research works have shown that frailty not only arises from diminished physical function, but also from multiple other types of functional decline, such as cognitive impairment, and abnormalities in vascular system (e.g., hypertension). Moreover, these conditions are not distinct or isolated from each other, but closely interact and interconnected. These interactions may play critical roles in the development of frailty. Therefore, it is worthwhile to re-conceptualize “frailty” by implementing advanced technologies to measure the characteristics of functions that are pertaining to frailty, and to explore the inter-relationships between them. Thus, we can discover novel indicators to predict frailty and can develop novel strategies to optimize the management and rehabilitation of frailty.
The overall goal of this research topic is to share and discuss recent achievements on understanding the pathology of frailty and its related bio-physiological characteristics, to identify novel indicators that can help predict the incidence of frailty, and to help optimize strategies for the prevention and management of frailty in aging population.
We are welcome the following specific topics:
• Characterization of the association between both physical and mental (e.g., cognitive function) characteristics pertaining to the development of frailty syndromes;
• Identification of novel metrics that can predict the risk of the development of frailty syndromes;
• Novel conceptualization of frailty;
• Novel rehabilitative strategies, management protocol for older adults suffering from frailty.
Original Research, Review Papers, Brief Research Report, Methods Papers, General Commentary covering topics ranging from basic to translational-clinical research in this field are welcomed.
Keywords: Frailty, Aging, physical and mental function, prediction of frailty syndromes, rehabilitation of frailty
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.
