Women more affected by frailty than men
Published: 14 Jan 2018
Frailty affects women more than men, according to Associate Professor Reshma Merchant, Department of Medicine, NUS Medicine and Division Head of Geriatric Medicine at NUH.
A study conducted in northwest Singapore by Assoc Prof Merchant revealed that 37 per cent of adults with an average age of 71 were pre-frail while 6.2 per cent were frail. Of those found to be frail, 46 per cent were women, compared to 19 per cent of men. “Frailty signifies the increased vulnerability to minimal stressors leading to functional impairment”, Assoc Prof Merchant explained.
She added that fatigue, inability to climb stairs, inability to walk the distance of a block, the presence of five or more illnesses and unintentional loss of 5 per cent of the body weight, are five components that could indicate frailty. An evaluation of the Healthy Ageing Promotion Programme For You (HAPPY) programme launched in August last year also revealed that dual-task exercises such as marching on the spot while playing memory games can be beneficial, particularly for those in the pre-frail stage.
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