Diseases AND or IN frailty, an important conceptual difference

Exp Gerontol. 2017 Nov:98:184-185. doi: 10.1016/j.exger.2017.08.031. Epub 2017 Aug 30.

Abstract

Frailty is a clinical state that increases an individual's vulnerability. It is an outcome marker in several medical scenarios. However, there is a lack of recognition in the medical field. Frailty should not be regarded as a condition superimposed to disease. Contrarily, it should be noticed as a state frequently found either as a component of diseases themselves or as their outcome. The work of a geriatrician is focused on the best possible approximation to the medical and psychosocial issues that an elder has, and must join the treatment team when the person has a considerable number of conditions that makes him/her frail. Traditionally medicine has focused mainly on illnesses, but the state of frailty requires a change of mindset, through a multidimensional person centered approach.

Keywords: Frail elderly; Frailty; Geriatrician.

MeSH terms

  • Age Factors
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Aging*
  • Consensus
  • Frail Elderly*
  • Frailty / classification
  • Frailty / diagnosis*
  • Frailty / therapy
  • Geriatric Assessment
  • Health Status Indicators
  • Humans
  • Prognosis
  • Terminology as Topic*