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Screening for frailty among seniors in clinical practice

Nature Clinical Practice Rheumatology volume 2, pages 476–480 (2006)Cite this article

Abstract

The normal course of aging is associated with gradual declines in a number of functional abilities. Patients who are at high risk of functional decline are described as frail or vulnerable. A screening tool to identify such patients is needed, as it has been shown that intervention can delay the onset and/or slow the progression of functional decline. This Review describes the methods currently available for nonspecialist evaluation of aging individuals, including behavioral, interview and questionnaire assessments. Such assessments can be undertaken during routine physician visits. In recognition of the time pressures on physicians, this article focuses on those measurements that are fairly comprehensive yet concise, easy to administer in an office setting, and available in English.

Key Points

  • Functional decline is a common accompaniment to old age, but is increasingly neither inevitable nor unmanageable

  • Screening for frailty among seniors should become a regular part of clinical encounters

  • A variety of methods of screening are available to physicians; specifically behavioral, interview and questionnaire assessments

  • These screening methods should be used in combination to screen for frailty

  • Large studies using combinations of screening methods are needed to develop an effective and efficient, but brief, protocol to screen for physical vulnerability

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Dr Matthew Liang of Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, for his advice and contribution throughout the project. The work was supported by the Boulos Hanna Summer Studentship at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) and by the Healthy Aging Research Programme (a cross-institutional project funded by the Health Research Board, which also involves Trinity College Dublin, the Queen's University of Belfast and the Economic and Social Research Institute, Dublin).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. medical student at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI),

    Kristin M Corapi, Hannah M McGee & Maja Barker

  2. Department of Psychology, Director of the Health Services Research Centre,

    Kristin M Corapi, Hannah M McGee & Maja Barker

  3. research officer with the Healthy Aging Research Project at the Department of Psychology,

    Kristin M Corapi, Hannah M McGee & Maja Barker

Authors
  1. Kristin M Corapi
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  2. Hannah M McGee
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  3. Maja Barker
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kristin M Corapi.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Corapi, K., McGee, H. & Barker, M. Screening for frailty among seniors in clinical practice. Nat Rev Rheumatol 2, 476–480 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncprheum0288

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