Schenelle Dayna Dlima, Alex Hall, Abodunrin Quadri Aminu, Asangaedem Akpan, Chris Todd, Emma R L C Vardy
{"title":"Frailty: a global health challenge in need of local action.","authors":"Schenelle Dayna Dlima, Alex Hall, Abodunrin Quadri Aminu, Asangaedem Akpan, Chris Todd, Emma R L C Vardy","doi":"10.1136/bmjgh-2024-015173","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Frailty is a complex, age-related clinical condition that involves multiple contributing factors and raises the risk of adverse outcomes in older people. Given global population ageing trends, the growing prevalence and incidence of frailty pose significant challenges to health and social care systems in both high-income and lower-income countries. In this review, we highlight the disproportionate representation of research on frailty screening and management from high-income countries, despite how lower-income countries are projected to have a larger share of older people aged ≥60. However, more frailty research has been emerging from lower-income countries in recent years, paving the way for more context-specific guidelines and studies that validate frailty assessment tools and evaluate frailty interventions in the population. We then present further considerations for contextualising frailty in research and practice in lower-income countries. First, the heterogeneous manifestations of frailty call for research that reflects different geographies, populations, health systems, community settings and policy priorities; this can be driven by supportive collaborative systems between high-income and lower-income countries. Second, the global narrative around frailty and ageing needs re-evaluation, given the negative connotations linked with frailty and the introduction of intrinsic capacity by the World Health Organization as a measure of functional reserves throughout the life course. Finally, the social determinants of health as possible risk factors for frailty in lower-income countries and global majority populations, and potential socioeconomic threats of frailty to national economies warrant proactive frailty screening in these populations.</p>","PeriodicalId":9137,"journal":{"name":"BMJ Global Health","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":7.1000,"publicationDate":"2024-08-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11331888/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"BMJ Global Health","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2024-015173","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Frailty is a complex, age-related clinical condition that involves multiple contributing factors and raises the risk of adverse outcomes in older people. Given global population ageing trends, the growing prevalence and incidence of frailty pose significant challenges to health and social care systems in both high-income and lower-income countries. In this review, we highlight the disproportionate representation of research on frailty screening and management from high-income countries, despite how lower-income countries are projected to have a larger share of older people aged ≥60. However, more frailty research has been emerging from lower-income countries in recent years, paving the way for more context-specific guidelines and studies that validate frailty assessment tools and evaluate frailty interventions in the population. We then present further considerations for contextualising frailty in research and practice in lower-income countries. First, the heterogeneous manifestations of frailty call for research that reflects different geographies, populations, health systems, community settings and policy priorities; this can be driven by supportive collaborative systems between high-income and lower-income countries. Second, the global narrative around frailty and ageing needs re-evaluation, given the negative connotations linked with frailty and the introduction of intrinsic capacity by the World Health Organization as a measure of functional reserves throughout the life course. Finally, the social determinants of health as possible risk factors for frailty in lower-income countries and global majority populations, and potential socioeconomic threats of frailty to national economies warrant proactive frailty screening in these populations.
期刊介绍:
BMJ Global Health is an online Open Access journal from BMJ that focuses on publishing high-quality peer-reviewed content pertinent to individuals engaged in global health, including policy makers, funders, researchers, clinicians, and frontline healthcare workers. The journal encompasses all facets of global health, with a special emphasis on submissions addressing underfunded areas such as non-communicable diseases (NCDs). It welcomes research across all study phases and designs, from study protocols to phase I trials to meta-analyses, including small or specialized studies. The journal also encourages opinionated discussions on controversial topics.