Frailty and primary sarcopenia: A review

Abstract

Increasing longevity, coupled with rising frailty and sarcopenia of aging, significantly affects function and quality of life of older adults. This review discusses the definition, assessment, and management of frailty and sarcopenia, and examines the relationship between them. Medline, Scopus and Psychoinfo databases were searched using the keywords frailty, sarcopenia, aging, and functional disability. The findings are that frailty and sarcopenia are often assessed clinically with such methods such as DeXA, CT scan, MRI, bioelectrical impedance, or anthropometry. Frailty and sarcopenia differentially affect older adults. Both conditions are characterized by decreased energy reserves and resistance to external and internal stressors, resulting in susceptibility to fatigue, comorbidity, sedentary life style, functional decline, hospitalization, quality of life, and even death. The estimated prevalence of frailty with sarcopenia is relatively low; however, the condition requires early detection and careful management.