Exploring frailty-related biomarkers and potential influence of environmental factors

Abstract

Recent evidence advocates that healthy ageing may be possible, with morbidity compressed to later years. One area of concern is the burden of environmentally induced disease in susceptible populations. Older adults are a well-recognized susceptible population due to the decline of immune defences and the burden of multiple chronic diseases. As a susceptible population, the burden of environmentally induced disease and lifestyle factors is an increasing concern. Frailty is an age-related syndrome expected to increase over the next decades given the observed demographic shift. This syndrome has been identified to be the most common condition leading to disability, institutionalization and death in the older adults and the risk factors associated with its development are yet to be clarified. The main aim of the present study is to investigate a relation between frailty status, biomarkers and environmental exposures.