Time-series based evaluation of physiological alterations in age-associated frailty during walking at self-selected velocity

Abstract

Medical prognosis is based on symptoms, such as loss of functionality or a deviation of the average value of physiological parameters from their adequate homeostatic ranges. On the other hand, alterations in physiological regulation may precede the appearance of symptoms, as has been suggested in geriatrics in the case of age-associated frailty. Technological advances allow to monitor in a continuous and non-invasive way a large variety of physiological variables and it has been proposed that the statistics of the resulting time series reflects the dynamics of these underlying regulatory processes. The purpose of the present contribution is to explore the relation between medical frailty scales and time series of continuous physiological monitoring in relation to medical prognosis during a physical effort test of walking 160m at a self-selected velocity in selected subjects of young adults, non-frail elderly adults and frail elderly adults.