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Frailty is a common geriatric syndrome that embodies an elevated risk of catastrophic declines in health and function among older adults. Frailty is a condition associated with ageing, and it has been recognized for centuries. As described by Shakespeare in ''As You Like It'', "the sixth age shifts into the lean and slipper’d pantaloon, with spectacles on nose and pouch on side, his youthful hose well sav’d, a world too wide, for his shrunk shank…". The shrunk shank is a result of loss of muscle with aging. It is also a marker of a more widespread syndrome of frailty, with associated weakness, slowing, decreased energy, lower activity, and, when severe, unintended weight loss. As a population ages, a central focus of geriatricians and public health practitioners is to understand, and then beneficially intervene on, the factors and processes that put elders at such risk, especially the increased vulnerability to stressors (e.g. extremes of heat and cold, infection, injury, or even changes in medication) that characterizes many older adults. ==Epidemiology== Frailty is a common geriatric syndrome. Estimates of frailty prevalence in older populations may vary according to a number of factors, including the setting in which the prevalence is being estimated – e.g., nursing home (higher prevalence) vs. community (lower prevalence), and the operational definition used for defining frailty. Using the widely used frailty phenotype framework proposed by Fried et al. (2001),〔 prevalence estimates of 7-16% have been reported in non-institutionalized, community-dwelling older adults. The occurrence of frailty increases incrementally with advancing age, and is more common in older women than men, and among those of lower socio-economic status. Frail older adults are at high risk for major adverse health outcomes, including disability, falls, institutionalization, hospitalization, and mortality. Epidemiologic research to date have led to the identification of a number of risk factors for frailty, including: (a) chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, depression, and cognitive impairment; (b) physiologic impairments, such as activation of inflammation and coagulation systems, anemia, atherosclerosis, autonomic dysfunction,〔 hormonal abnormalities, obesity, hypovitaminosis D in men, and environment-related factors such as life space and neighborhood characteristics. Advances about potentially modifiable risk factors for frailty now offer the basis for translational research effort aimed at prevention and treatment of frailty in older adults. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Frailty syndrome」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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