Identifying factors associated with Frailty

Frailty is a common geriatric syndrome characterized by reduced physiological reserve across multiple health domains that collectively make a person more vulnerable to experiencing illness. Although frailty is not an inevitable part of aging, its prevalence increases with age and is a common clinical expression of advanced age. In recent years, evidence has shown that frailty is greatly associated with age-related diseases including cardiovascular disease and increased health system costs. On the other hand, it has been acknowledged that the global population is aging. Therefore, there is growing attention on understanding the pattern of frailty in later life and developing preventative strategies to prevent being frail. This project will identify the factors associated with frailty using the 10-year longitudinal data of ASPREE and ASPREE-XT study (including 19,114 community-dwelling Americans and Australians predominantly aged 70 years at recruitment). This project will suit a student interested in epidemiology and keen to learn more about biostatistical analysis methods. The results of this project will lead to a publication.