Frontiers In Public Health Aging And Public Health Research Topics Aging Related Sarcopenia And Frailty Prevalence Risk Factors And Prediction Models Aging Related Sarcopenia And Frailty Prevalence Risk Factors And Prediction Models

Frontiers in Public Health Aging and Public Health Research Topics Aging-Related Sarcopenia and Frailty: Prevalence, Risk Factors and Prediction Models Aging-Related Sarcopenia and Frailty: Prevalence, Risk Factors and Prediction Models

Sarcopenia and frailty, known as the modern “Giants of Geriatrics”, are two age-related syndromes that have garnered significant attention in the field. Sarcopenia is characterized by the progressive loss of skeletal muscle mass and loss of muscle function. While frailty is a clinical condition characterized by an excessive vulnerability of the individual to endogenous and exogenous stressors. Both syndromes are considered strong predictors of morbidity, disability, and mortality in older adults, and their prevalence varies across different regions and diagnostic tools. There is growing recognition of various risk factors associated with sarcopenia and frailty in older adults, including malnutrition, chronic disease, depression, sleep disorders, teeth loss and cognitive decline. And there is the reversibility of returning to a healthy state with appropriate interventions. Early intervention through exercise and nutrition can help mitigate the risks associated with sarcopenia and frailty, and both syndromes can be effectively managed, benefiting both older adults and their families, while also reducing dependence on healthcare and social services. To support early intervention and reduce disability and hospitalization rates among older adults, this research topic welcomes original research articles, reviews, and opinion pieces that explore the current prevalence, the influencing risk factors, and prediction models of age-related sarcopenia and frailty. Early identification and early intervention were important to reverse these geriatrics syndromes. In identifying approaches to accurately measure, assess, and improve sarcopenia and frailty, the research topic strives to further substantiate the significance of sarcopenia and frailty in the field of geriatrics medicine and public health.

Epidemiological characteristics and related risk factors of older population aged over 75 years

Novel Indicators and Strategies for Prevention and Management of Physical and Cognitive Frailty in Aging Population

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.