{"id":90007,"date":"2026-04-22T11:26:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T17:26:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/?p=90007"},"modified":"2026-04-22T11:26:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T17:26:11","slug":"frailty-prevention-older-adults-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/frailty-prevention-older-adults-health\/","title":{"rendered":"Frailty threatens the health and well-being of older adults, but it’s not inevitable"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Frailty
Frailty is a medical syndrome that reduces the body\u2019s reserves and makes it harder to fight illnesses and stress. Frailty can lead to poor health outcomes. Doctors should consider how frail a person is before considering surgery. One option is physical therapy before surgery, which the UCHealth Seniors Clinic offers to anyone who arrives with preoperative paperwork. Photo: Getty Images.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Millions of people in the U.S. who are ages 65 and older are officially considered “frail,” and due to demographic trends, the number of vulnerable people is rising fast.<\/p>\n

Being frail means that you’re physically or mentally compromised to the point that you are much more vulnerable to suffering additional health problems.<\/p>\n

More than a decade ago, the National Health and Aging Trends Study estimated<\/a> that 15% of older adults in the U.S., who were at least age 65 and not living in nursing homes, were already frail.<\/p>\n

The 2015 estimate equated to roughly 6 million people, but as the nation\u2019s population has aged<\/a>, so has the number of people in this age group who now are considered frail. Today, the estimate has climbed to 8 million people.<\/p>\n

Mere statistics hide the significance of this rise in the number of frail older adults. In medical and human terms, frailty is much more than physical weakness. It is a collection of problems that erode the bodily reserves that enable a person to fight disease, injury, trauma and illness. Frailty takes a toll on individuals, caregivers and the health care system as a whole.<\/p>\n

Frailty is not the burden of older people alone. Nor is it the inevitable result of aging. People can take steps to prevent or reverse frailty, and doing so represents a huge step forward, both for the individual and for society.<\/p>\n

To learn more about the challenges of frailty, we spoke with Dr. Thomas Johnson<\/a>, assistant professor in the Division of Geriatric Medicine<\/a> at the University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine<\/a>. Johnson treats patients in the UCHealth Seniors Clinic \u2013 Anschutz Outpatient Pavilion<\/a>.<\/p>\n

How exactly do you define medical frailty?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Johnson began by quoting from a 2019 paper<\/a> that defines frailty \u201cas a biologic syndrome of decreased reserve and resistance to stressors, resulting from cumulative declines across multiple physiologic systems, and causing vulnerability to adverse outcomes.\u201d<\/p>\n

In plainer terms, he said, \u201cpeople who are frail are more at risk for worse outcomes and have more difficulty returning to their normal previous function after a stressor.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those stressors include falls, injuries, hospitalizations, illnesses and chronic diseases.<\/p>\n

Is frailty a condition that is limited to older adults?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

No, frailty is not a condition only of older people. Frailty can occur at any age in people with many illnesses, ranging from chronic infections to end-stage kidney disease to cancer, Johnson said.<\/p>\n

\"Dr.
Dr. Thomas Johnson cares for patients at the UCHealth Seniors Clinic. He teaches patients and families that they can avoid becoming frail, which will benefit them greatly as they age. Photo coutesy of the University of Colorado Anschutz.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Is frailty inevitable as we age?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

No, frailty is not inevitable.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople may assume that every adult as they become older will become frail,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cThat\u2019s not true. It\u2019s something that we can try to prevent and fight against with a healthy lifestyle, exercise and social engagement.\u201d<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll provide more information on preventive steps you can take in a moment.<\/p>\n

Can a person\u2019s chronological and biological age be two different things?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Yes, a person\u2019s chronological age may not predict their biological age, and vice versa, Johnson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve all met people who are, say, age 72 and we\u2019re surprised,\u201d he said. \u201cMaybe they are youthful and very active, or maybe they aren\u2019t and you would guess they are older. We can\u2019t help our chronological age, but we can influence our biological age with a healthy lifestyle and working with our providers to treat our medical illnesses.\u201d<\/p>\n

In working as a doctor with \u201cyoung learners,\u201d Johnson said he explains that he doesn\u2019t care nearly as much about a patient\u2019s age in years as he does about their function and whether that indicates if they are frail or on the cusp of becoming frail.<\/p>\n

How do you decide if a person is frail?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

There are five criteria<\/a> that medical experts use to determine whether or not a person is frail or at risk for becoming frail, Johnson said.<\/p>\n

The five criteria that determine if a person is frail include:<\/strong><\/h3>\n