Consensus document on frailty: conceptualization, detection, multidisciplinary management and future roadmap.

A consensus definition of frailty was established as an age-associated clinical phenotypic syndrome driven by biology of aging, environmental exposures, and disease burden.

• The consensus was developed across 25 research centers on frailty and healthy aging.
• Frailty's physiological basis lies in 'a heterogeneous decline of functional reserve across organ systems, accompanied by impaired homeostasis and reduced capacity to respond to stressors.'
• The syndrome ultimately predisposes individuals to adverse health outcomes, mainly disability.
• The document was designed for epidemiological, clinical, and research application across Europe.

The document identifies a lack of universally accepted definition, gold-standard assessment tool, and evidence-based interventions as key barriers to integrating frailty into routine clinical practice.

• These gaps have particularly hindered integration outside of geriatric medicine.
• The absence of a unified framework has been recognized as a major obstacle for clinicians, health professionals, policymakers, and aging researchers.
• The consensus aimed to address definition, attributes, misunderstandings, pathophysiology, phenotypes, assessment, biomarkers, management, stigmas, and future challenges.

The consensus document addresses common misunderstandings related to frailty, distinguishing what frailty is from what it is not.

• The document explicitly differentiates frailty from normal aging.
• Distinct frailty subphenotypes or subtypes were addressed as part of the consensus.
• Gender considerations were identified as a relevant dimension of frailty that requires specific attention.

The consensus document provides guidance on frailty assessment, including how frailty should be assessed and who should perform assessments.

• The document was developed with input from 25 research centers.
• Assessment guidance was intended to be applicable across epidemiological, clinical, and research settings.
• Biomarkers of frailty were identified as part of the assessment framework.

The consensus document addresses frailty management from a multidisciplinary perspective, including current challenges and future directions.

• Management recommendations were developed as part of the consensus by contributors from 25 research centers.
• The document covers the stigma associated with being considered frail as a relevant clinical and social concern.
• Future challenges and a roadmap for frailty research and clinical practice were included in the consensus.