BioScience Trends. 2023;17(4):252-261. (DOI: 10.5582/bst.2023.01204)

Healthy aging, early screening, and interventions for frailty in the elderly

Deng Y, Zhang KM, Zhu JL, Hu XF, Liao R

With the intensification of population aging worldwide, the health problems of the elderly have become a particular concern. Functional disability is a prominent problem in the aging of this population, resulting in the decreased quality of life of senile people. Risk factors for functional disability in the elderly include geriatric syndromes and the associated diseases such as frailty. The influence of frailty on the health of the elderly has been a hot topic in recent years. As a dynamic and reversible geriatric syndrome, it has become one of the important public health problems emerging around the world. Frailty lies between self-reliance and the need for care and is reversible. Reasonable preventive interventions can restore the elderly to an independent life. If no interventions are implemented, the elderly will face a dilemma. There is no gold standard for frailty screening around the world. In order to alleviate frailty in the elderly, many countries have conducted early screening for frailty, mainly focusing on nutrition, physical activity, and social participation, in order to detect and prevent frailty earlier and to reduce the incidence of frailty. This topic provides an overview of the current status of frailty, early screening for frailty, and the interventions for frailty in most countries of the world.

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