Frailty in the elderly is a significantly debilitating condition, but the available data on its prevalence is inconsistent, owing to the lack of definite screening and diagnostic criteria. Standardized health indices for assessing frailty and evaluating its severity are needed for the populations of the middle eastern nations. Frailty is an age-related physiologic decline that presents as three out of five physical manifestations – low energy levels, diminished physical activity, slow in action, reduced dexterity, and unintentional weight loss.
The frailty index (FI) describes frailty as a cumulative risk estimated from a set of identified phenotypic characteristics: The geriatric syndrome comprising delirium, accidental falls, physical and cognitive degradation; diseases; psychosocial deterioration. A meta-analysis has reported a high prevalence of frailty in these nations (Figure 1).…
