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Journal of Diabetes & Metabolic Disorders
Published in: Journal of Diabetes & Metabolic Disorders 2/2021

01-12-2021 | Review Article

The conceptual and practical definitions of frailty in older adults: a systematic review

Authors: Ameneh Sobhani, Reza Fadayevatan, Farshad Sharifi, Ahmadali Akbari Kamrani, Hanieh-Sadat Ejtahed, Raziye Sadat Hosseini, Shamaneh Mohamadi, Alireza Fadayevatan, Sara Mortazavi

Published in: Journal of Diabetes & Metabolic Disorders | Issue 2/2021

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Abstract

Purpose

This study aimed to review and extract all publications containing concepts related to definitions of frailty and categorize them.

Methods

A total of six electronic databases (PubMed, Ovid web, Web of Science, Scopus, Embase, Cochrane Library, and ProQuest) were searched to identify studies that introduced a definition of frailty up to October 2018. No language restrictions were imposed.

Results

Totally, 104,370 papers were found in the initial search and finally 68 papers were included. Of these, 21 studies provided a conceptual definition and 50 original articles also 9 review articles provided a practical definition. Moreover, 12 papers had both definitions of frailty. Of them, 62 were published in English, 2 in Portuguese, 1 in Japanese, 2 in Korean, and 1 in German languages.

Conclusion

Many screening tools have been developed but neither of them can cover a wide range of parameters at the same time, nor do they have simplicity in the execution. It is important to note that although a more or less general consensus on one single definition might be expected, we believe that the elderly population is too heterogeneous to allow a tool to address it as a whole, and such a definition may even be impossible. Therefore, in the absence of a “Gold Standard” definition, it is suggested to seek accurate knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of each definition and choose the most appropriate definition and the most effective evaluation tool according to the purpose of the research and the characteristics of the older population.
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Metadata
Title
The conceptual and practical definitions of frailty in older adults: a systematic review
Authors
Ameneh Sobhani
Reza Fadayevatan
Farshad Sharifi
Ahmadali Akbari Kamrani
Hanieh-Sadat Ejtahed
Raziye Sadat Hosseini
Shamaneh Mohamadi
Alireza Fadayevatan
Sara Mortazavi
Publication date
01-12-2021
Publisher
Springer International Publishing
Published in
Journal of Diabetes & Metabolic Disorders / Issue 2/2021
Electronic ISSN: 2251-6581
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s40200-021-00897-x

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