FROG

Frailty and cognitive impairment

Detail Research lines Projects Publications Collaboration Theses

Date of inception 04 February 2019

Department: Nursing

The prevalence of frailty syndrome and cognitive impairment represent an often overlapping clinical entity that has a major health, social and economic impact. Frailty and cognitive impairment have also been shown in several international studies to be a precursor to disability, dependency and premature mortality. The group¿s research activity focuses on two fundamental aspects of ageing 1) The pathophysiological alterations that induce and accompany frailty syndrome and cognitive impairment in older people or in younger people whose pathologies and comorbidities lead to earlier development of frailty syndrome and cognitive impairment (such as people with psychiatric illnesses or oncology patients). 2) Nursing multidisciplinary interventions that are able to delay the onset or slow the progression of frailty and cognitive decline. The first aspect is approaches from a clinical perspective by looking for biomarkers in blood, saliva or other biological samples that characterise the frailty syndrome and cognitive impairment or are predictive of its appearance and changes either in the sense of progression or improvement after clinical interventions. The use of a panel of biomarkers that can be measured in routine clinical testing allows the detection of individuals at risk of developing frailty and cognitive decline or progressing to more severe stages of frailty and dependence, monitoring the effectiveness of treatments, non-pharmacological interventions and care that slow or delay frailty and cognitive decline or its progression. In the aspect of clinical interventions, the impact that these have on other fundamental variables in the integral assessment of the patient is also evaluated, such as their functional state, mode and quality of life from a holistic perspective of people.