Toward an Understanding of Frailty

Medical Writings1 June 1999Toward an Understanding of FrailtyDavid Hamerman, MDDavid Hamerman, MDAlbert Einstein College of Medicine; Bronx, NY 10467 (Hamerman)Author, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-130-11-199906010-00022 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail Health care providers who serve an aging population inherently associate the word frailty with patients whom they perceive as frail. Although frailty is not confined to elderly persons, it is more frequently observed in persons older than 85 years of age (the "oldest old") (1). This is because limitations and diseases associated with aging are an inseparable part of frailty (2-5). As a result, frailty remains more a constellation of many conditions than a discrete clinical entity, and it certainly does not have a precise scientific meaning (6). 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