Biopsychosocial Frailty Measure Predicts Risk for Dementia

Biopsychosocial frailty (BF) can predict short- and longer-term dementia risk, according to a study published in the August issue of Alzheimer's & Dementia.

Vincenzo Solfrizzi, M.D., Ph.D., from the University of Bari Aldo Moro in Italy, and colleagues used data from the population-based Italian Longitudinal Study on Aging (2,171 participants) to identify the BF construct plus at least one of the two impaired items of the 30-item Geriatric Depression Scale. BF incorporates physical, psychological, and social elements.

The researchers found that during a 3.5-year follow-up, participants with BF showed an increased risk for overall dementia (hazard ratio [HR], 2.16), particularly vascular dementia (HR, 3.21). A similar trend was seen for seven-year follow-up with an increased risk for overall dementia (HR, 1.84), especially vascular dementia (HR, 2.53).

"Secondary preventive strategies for cognitive impairment and different frailty phenotypes, particularly BF, may be suggested, with an individualized multidomain [intervention] targeting physical, nutritional, cognitive, and psychological domains," the authors write.

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