Frailty as a concept has been around in medical practice for many years but has only relatively recently been established as a medical syndrome. Although frailty is not synonymous with chronological age, it is recognized to be more common as people get older. Frailty is independently associated with increasing dependency, hospital admissions and morbidity and mortality. As populations age, frailty will become more of a challenge to health care systems. It is important that health care professionals, especially geriatricians, are aware of this emerging syndrome and its potential adverse outcomes, as well as measures to reverse and slow its progress. The aim of this review is to discuss the definition, identification and potential treatment options for frailty, most relevant to the practising clinician.
Relationships of Multimorbidity and Income With Hospital Admissions in 3 Health Care Systems
