Researchers here report on the effectiveness of methods used by researchers and clinicians to assess degree of frailty in older patients. They find that all methods correlate with future mortality, but there are variances in the details of how they correlate to the risk of suffering specific age-related conditions. An optimist might take this to mean that any future rejuvenation therapy with sizable, reliable effects could be correctly categorized as a real rejuvenation therapy by applying the existing systems of testing and assessment. New biomarkers of aging would help, but they are not necessarily required. We'll find out whether or not this is the case over the next five to ten years as senolytic therapies work their way into widespread use, and the large assessment studies begin.
Frailty is common in elderly people with cardiovascular disease and goes along with elevated mortality. However, no consensus exists on the definition of frailty. Many scores have been developed to assess frailty and to make predictions on disease and mortality, but there is no gold standard. Researchers examined the predictive ability of 35 frailty scores for cardiovascular disease, cancer and all-cause mortality using data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. The analysis reveals that all frailty scores are associated with future mortality, and that some are linked to cardiovascular disease but none to cancer. The study underscores that the comparative evaluation of strength of associations between health outcomes in elderly people provides a solid evidence base for researchers and health professionals.
In this study, the scientists analysed frailty scores identified by a systematic literature review on their ability to predict mortality, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. Data was used from 5,294 adults aged 60 years or more and followed up over a period of seven years within the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. The researchers observed that all frailty scores were associated with all-cause mortality, some were also associated with the incidence of cardiovascular disease, but none were associated with cancer events. In models adjusted for demographic and clinical information, 33 out of 35 frailty scores showed significant added predictive performance for all-cause mortality. Certain scores outperform others with regard to all-cause mortality and cardiovascular health outcomes in later life. The authors specify that multidimensional frailty scores may have a more stable association with mortality and incidence of cardiovascular disorders.
Link: https://www.lih.lu/b...d-mortality-189
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