New Report on Prestigious NIA-Funded Conference Proceedings Discusses Integrating Frailty Research Into Care as We Age

Although it is one of the most frequently used health indicators as more and more of us age, frailty—increased vulnerability to declines in health or a loss of independence—remains understudied and underutilized, so say researchers reporting on a prestigious conference hosted in 2015 by the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) and the National Institute on Aging (NIA), with support from the Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine and The John A. Hartford Foundation. A summary of research from the conference, published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, is poised to advance not only a consensus definition for frailty but also our understanding of its biology, assessment, and role in improving care across several specialties, from cardiology and long-term care to behavioral and social sciences.

Convened in 2015 for recipients of the NIA’s Grants for Early Medical/Surgical Specialists Transition into Aging Research (GEMSSTAR) program, the NIA “U13” conference brought together more than 75 scholars, researchers, leaders in the fields of aging and frailty, and NIA representatives. This cohort of experts worked to present and further stimulate research on frailty, particularly across the array of disciplines involved in the high-quality, person-centered care we all may need as we age.

The NIA’s GEMSSTAR program awards support to early-career physicians trained in medical and surgical subspecialties for research on the role of geriatrics within their specialties. The AGS serves as a central coordinating body for applicants in particular specialties (anesthesiology, emergency medicine, general surgery, gynecology, orthopaedic surgery, physical medicine and rehabilitation, urology, and vascular surgery) interested in applying for the Dennis W. Jahnigen Career Development Award, a related form of support which provides funding for a Professional Development Plan to complement an “R03” research project (the grant mechanism administered by the National Institutes of Health to support small research projects carried out in a short period of time).

According to the GEMSSTAR conference proceedings, managing frailty is increasingly important in medical specialties to improve quality of life, guide health care decision-making, and prevent deteriorating health or
the risk for decline, wherever possible. Yet challenges to integrating frailty management into clinical care include not only uncertainty about what to measure but also when, who, and how to do so—particularly in the context of care addressing other specific health concerns.

Heart failure—accounting for 1 million hospitalizations and more than $39 billion in health care spending per year—remains a considerable challenge for many older adults, for example, yet the role that frailty plays for people living with heart failure “has been overlooked as a reason for the high rate of hospital readmission,” conference attendees noted. Similar experiences have been reported for everything from end-stage renal disease to treatment for HIV—reinforcing the importance of understanding frailty’s impact on health more clearly.

“Many conditions associated with frailty increase as we age, but it’s also incredibly important to remember that we all age differently,” said Arti Hurria, MD, a trained geriatrician and oncologist who serves as Director of Cancer and Aging Research at City of Hope in Duarte, CA, and is also the Principal Investigator on the U13 conference grant. “Integrating frailty screening into our work as clinicians—identifying individuals at risk, altering treatment when needed, and developing new preventive strategies—represents a clear path toward the high-quality, person-centered care we all need as we age. That’s what this meeting of our GEMSSTAR colleagues is all about.”

The report from the GEMSSTAR conference is available with open access from the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (doi:10.1111/jgs.14902). For more information on the Geriatrics-for-Specialists Initiative and the GEMSSTAR program, visit AmericanGeriatrics.org.