Sayani Das
Ph.D. Research Scholar (Anthropology)
Biological Anthropology Unit
Indian Statistical Institute
Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Abstract
Human ageing has been observed as a progressive decline in both the physical and psychological functioning and consequently a growing health care burden on the society. Elderly population in India is also exponentially increasing. To understand diverse nature of human ageing, researchers have studied and explained variety of dimensions and concepts related to ageing. The Frailty is one of those important concepts of age related phenomenon. It is a multidimensional complex geriatric syndrome. This article highlighted that frailty syndrome is an evolving concept for India and it is still much less explored. Higher prevalence is reported from India, particularly from elderly women of rural areas and it is associated with several physical, psychological and social factors. In India, it is the high time to increase the awareness of early reorganization and subsequent prevention of frailty syndrome to reduce the expenses of healthcare in future. This review article discusses the concept, definitions and most used diagnostic tools of frailty, formal work on frailty instrument in India and the present scenario of frailty syndrome in Indian ageing population.
Key words: Diagnosis, Elderly, Frail, Health, India, Prevalence, Syndrome.
