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Cognitive Frailty: A Systematic Review of Epidemiological and Neurobiological Evidence of an Age-Related Clinical Condition
Panza F, Solfrizzi V, Barulli MR, Santamato A, Seripa D, Pilotto A, Logroscino G.. Rejuvenation research, 2015-08-20
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Advancing age is the focus of recent studies on familial and sporadic Alzheimer's disease (AD), suggesting a prolonged pre-clinical phase several decades before the onset of dementia symptoms. Influencing some age-related conditions, such as frailty, may have an impact on the prevention of late-life cognitive disorders. Frailty reflects a nonspecific state of vulnerability and a multi-system physiological change with increased risk for adverse health outcomes in older age. In this systematic review, frailty indexes based on a deficit accumulation model were associated with late life cognitive impairment and decline, incident dementia, and AD. Physical frailty constructs were associated with late-life cognitive impairment and decline, incident AD and mild cognitive impairment, vascular dementia, non-AD dementias, and AD pathology in older persons with and without dementia, thus also proposing cognitive frailty as a new clinical condition with co-existing physical frailty and cognitive impairment in non-demented older subjects. Considering both physical frailty and cognitive impairment as a single complex phenotype may be central in the prevention of dementia and its subtypes with secondary preventive trials on cognitive frail older subjects. The mechanisms underlying the cognitive-frailty link are multi-factorial, and vascular, inflammatory, nutritional, and metabolic influences may be of major relevance. There is a critical need for randomized controlled trials of intervention investigating the role of nutrition and/or physical exercise on cognitive frail subjects with the progression to dementia as primary outcome. These preventive trials and larger longitudinal population-based studies targeting cognitive outcomes could be useful in further understanding the cognitive-frailty interplay in older age.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Panza, F., Solfrizzi, V., Barulli, M. R., Santamato, A., Seripa, D., Pilotto, A., et al. (2015). Cognitive Frailty: A Systematic Review of Epidemiological and Neurobiological Evidence of an Age-Related Clinical Condition. Rejuvenation research. https://doi.org/10.1089/rej.2014.1637
Vancouver
Panza F, Solfrizzi V, Barulli MR, Santamato A, Seripa D, Pilotto A, et al. Cognitive Frailty: A Systematic Review of Epidemiological and Neurobiological Evidence of an Age-Related Clinical Condition. Rejuvenation research. 2015. doi:10.1089/rej.2014.1637. PMID: 25808052.
BibTeX
@article{panza2015-25808052,
author = {Panza, F. and Solfrizzi, V. and Barulli, M. R. and Santamato, A. and Seripa, D. and Pilotto, A. and Logroscino, G.},
title = {{Cognitive Frailty: A Systematic Review of Epidemiological and Neurobiological Evidence of an Age-Related Clinical Condition}},
journal = {Rejuvenation research},
year = {2015},
doi = {10.1089/rej.2014.1637},
pmid = {25808052},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1089/rej.2014.1637}
}
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record names 7 authors; APA and Vancouver show the first six, BibTeX and the downloads carry all of them. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
Key findings
- Frailty reflects a nonspecific state of vulnerability and a multi-system physiological change with increased risk for adverse health outcomes in older age.
- In this systematic review, frailty indexes based on a deficit accumulation model were associated with late life cognitive impairment and decline, incident dementia, and AD.
- Physical frailty constructs were associated with late-life cognitive impairment and decline, incident AD and mild cognitive impairment, vascular dementia, non-AD dementias, and AD pathology in older persons with and without dementia, thus also proposing cognitive frailty as a new clinical condition with co-existing physical frailty and cognitive impairment in non-demented older subjects.
Why it matters
This review found that frailty indexes and physical frailty were associated with later cognitive impairment, decline, and dementia, including Alzheimer's, and proposes cognitive frailty as a combined condition in non-demented older people. It suggests that targeting frailty might help prevent dementia, but the mechanisms are described as multi-factorial and no intervention was tested.
Study details
- Study designsystematic review
- Evidence strengthHigh
How this study scored 57/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a systematic review of all the studies on the question. Scored zero for sample size, effect reported and studied in people because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Rejuvenation research) |
| Journal's citation record | 1 / 4 | Rejuvenation Research: journal h-index 85 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 12 / 12 | A systematic review of all the studies on the question |
| Strength of evidence | 5 / 5 | Rated “high” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2015 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | A review of other studies — randomisation is not credited here |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 140 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 10.8 citations a year over 13 year(s) since 2015 |
| Impact for its field and year | 2 / 6 | Cited 1.5× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 1 / 6 | Cited by 2 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 30 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Giancarlo Logroscino: h-index 126 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 0 / 3 | University of Bari Aldo Moro: institution h-index 586 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 4 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 25808052) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 57 / 100 | — |
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