Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 6, 2026

Measuring Frailty in HIV-infected Individuals. Identification of Frail Patients is the First Step to Amelioration and Reversal of Frailty
05:53

Measuring Frailty in HIV-infected Individuals. Identification of Frail Patients is the First Step to Amelioration and Reversal of Frailty

Published on: July 24, 2013

17.2K

Frailty and Multimorbidity: Different Ways of Thinking About Geriatrics

Matteo Cesari1, Mario Ulises Pérez-Zepeda2, Emanuele Marzetti3

  • 1Gérontopôle, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Toulouse, Toulouse, France; Université de Toulouse III Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France.

Journal of the American Medical Directors Association
|March 11, 2017
PubMed

Insights

Multimorbidity and frailty are key terms for assessing older adults

Area of Science:

  • Geriatrics
  • Clinical Medicine
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Multimorbidity and frailty are increasingly used to assess older adults' risk profiles.
  • Multimorbidity, originating from non-geriatric settings, offers a disease-focused, unidimensional risk profile.
  • Frailty, a geriatric concept, provides a comprehensive, multidimensional assessment of individuals and their environment.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To advocate for the adoption of precise terminology in geriatric care.
  • To enhance geriatricians' understanding and application of risk assessment tools.
  • To emphasize the value of geriatric expertise in managing complex health conditions in older adults.

Main Methods:

  • Conceptual analysis and literature review comparing multimorbidity and frailty constructs.
  • Discussion of the limitations of unidimensional versus multidimensional assessment frameworks.
  • Argument for the superiority of frailty assessment in geriatric contexts.

Main Results:

  • Multimorbidity provides a limited, disease-centric view of health risks.
  • Frailty offers a holistic, individualized approach, better suited for geriatric patients.
  • The distinction highlights the need for tailored interventions based on comprehensive assessments.

Conclusions:

  • Frailty is a more appropriate and valuable concept than multimorbidity for geriatricians.
  • Adopting frailty-informed approaches enhances the care of biologically aged individuals.
  • Geriatricians should leverage their expertise by utilizing comprehensive assessment tools like frailty.
Keywords:
Diseasesagingcomprehensive geriatric assessmentpublic health

More Related Videos

Author Spotlight: Assessing Surgical Frailty with Point-of-Care Ultrasound of Quadriceps Muscles04:00

Author Spotlight: Assessing Surgical Frailty with Point-of-Care Ultrasound of Quadriceps Muscles

Published on: July 26, 2024

1.4K
Frailty Assessment in an Aging Mouse Model06:58

Frailty Assessment in an Aging Mouse Model

Published on: September 23, 2025

741

Related Concept Videos

Drug Dosing: Geriatric Patients01:15

Drug Dosing: Geriatric Patients

Elderly individuals encompass a diverse population with varying degrees of age-related physiological changes. Defining the elderly presents challenges, as the geriatric population is often arbitrarily categorized as individuals older than 65. However, many individuals in this group lead active and healthy lives, with an increasing number surpassing 85 years and falling into the older elderly category. Physiological changes associated with aging impact performance capacity and homeostatic...
334
Pharmacodynamics in Geriatric Patients: Effects of Age01:27

Pharmacodynamics in Geriatric Patients: Effects of Age

Age-related pharmacokinetic changes are extensively documented, but understanding age-related pharmacodynamic alterations is relatively limited. This knowledge gap can be partly attributed to the complexity of developing appropriate measures of drug responses compared to bioanalytical methods for determining drug concentrations.Most information regarding age-related differences in human pharmacodynamics originates from cross-sectional studies. However, these studies assume that observed mean...
294
Pharmacokinetics in Geriatric Patients: Effect of Age on Drug Metabolism01:18

Pharmacokinetics in Geriatric Patients: Effect of Age on Drug Metabolism

Geriatric patients show significant variation in how their bodies process medications, which can change how effective and safe treatments are. The liver is the primary organ where drug metabolism occurs, involving two main types of chemical reactions: phase I and II. Phase I metabolism is driven by the cytochrome P450 enzyme system, which includes key types such as CYP3A, CYP2D6, and CYP2C9. Research indicates that while aging doesn't notably alter the levels or activity of these enzymes, it...
283
Pharmacokinetics in Geriatric Patients: Effect of Age on Drug Excretion01:18

Pharmacokinetics in Geriatric Patients: Effect of Age on Drug Excretion

In geriatric patients, renal physiology undergoes significant changes, including diminished renal blood flow and a lower glomerular filtration rate (GFR), leading to alterations in medication clearance. Drugs such as aminoglycoside antibiotics, lithium, and digoxin, which rely on glomerular filtration for removal from the body, particularly impact pharmacokinetics. These drugs tend to have slower clearance rates in older adults, necessitating careful dosage considerations.Evaluation of renal...
294
Pharmacokinetics in Geriatric Patients: Effect of Age on Drug Distribution01:00

Pharmacokinetics in Geriatric Patients: Effect of Age on Drug Distribution

Drug distribution in the human body is influenced by several factors, including plasma protein concentration, body composition, blood flow, tissue-protein concentration, and tissue fluid pH. Among these, changes in plasma protein concentration and body composition due to aging significantly affect how drugs are distributed within the body. Specifically, aging is associated with a decrease in albumin levels by about 10% and an increase in α1-acid glycoprotein levels. These alterations are...
306
Pharmacokinetics in Geriatric Patients: Effect of Age on Drug Absorption01:22

Pharmacokinetics in Geriatric Patients: Effect of Age on Drug Absorption

As individuals age, their body's physiology evolves, affecting drug pharmacokinetics. The most apparent changes occur in the gastrointestinal tract, where an increase in gastric pH, a delay in gastric emptying, and a reduction in gastrointestinal motility are observed. Remarkably, these changes do not substantially modify the absorption of orally administered drugs, particularly those absorbed via passive diffusion.Transdermal drug delivery emerges as a highly viable method for older adults due...
771