High prevalence of geriatric syndromes in older adults

Abstract

Introduction The geriatric syndromes of frailty, sarcopenia, weight loss, and dementia are highly prevalent in elderly individuals across all care continuums. Despite their deleterious impact on quality of life, disability, and mortality in older adults, they are frequently under-recognized. At Saint Louis University, the Rapid Geriatric Assessment (RGA) was developed as a brief screening tool to identify these four geriatric syndromes. Materials and methods From 2015-2019, the RGA, comprised of the FRAIL, SARC-F, Simplified Nutritional Appetite Questionnaire (SNAQ), and Rapid Cognitive Screen (RCS) tools and a question on Advance Directives, was administered to 11,344 individuals � 65 years of age across Missouri in community, office-based, hospital, Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE), and nursing home care settings. Standard statistical methods were used to calculate the prevalence of frailty, sarcopenia, weight loss, and dementia across the sample. Results Among the 11,344 individuals screened by the RGA, 41.0% and 30.4% met the screening criteria for pre-frailty and frailty respectively, 42.9% met the screening criteria for sarcopenia, 29.3% were anorectic and at risk for weight loss, and 28.1% screened positive for dementia. The prevalence of frailty, risk for weight loss, sarcopenia, and dementia increased with age and decreased when hospitalized patients and those in the PACE program or nursing home were excluded. Conclusions Using the RGA as a valid screening tool, the prevalence of one or more of the geriatric syndromes of frailty, sarcopenia, weight loss, and dementia in older adults across all care

Screening for and Managing the Person with Frailty in Primary Care: ICFSR Consensus Guidelines

“…The FRAIL screen has been integrated with 3 other tests: The SARC-F (Sarcopenia) ( 2 , 73 ), the Simplified Nutrition Appetite Questionnaire (SNAQ) ( 74 , 75 ) and the Rapid Cognitive Screen (RCS) ( 76 ) to provide a more comprehensive geriatric examination, which can be performed by a primary care provider or other allied health care professionals (Figure 1 ). The complete RGA can be carried out in under 5 minutes ( 77 ) and is available as an App which was utilized by the National Lniversity Health System in Singapore ( 78 ). Furthermore, the RGA can be integrated into the Medicare Annual Wellness Visit ( 79 ).…”

Screening for and Managing the Person with Frailty in Primary Care: ICFSR Consensus Guidelines

“…The FRAIL screen has been integrated with 3 other tests: The SARC-F (Sarcopenia) ( 2 , 73 ), the Simplified Nutrition Appetite Questionnaire (SNAQ) ( 74 , 75 ) and the Rapid Cognitive Screen (RCS) ( 76 ) to provide a more comprehensive geriatric examination, which can be performed by a primary care provider or other allied health care professionals (Figure 1 ). The complete RGA can be carried out in under 5 minutes ( 77 ) and is available as an App which was utilized by the National University Health System in Singapore ( 78 ). Furthermore, the RGA can be integrated into the Medicare Annual Wellness Visit ( 79 ).…”

COVID-19 — The Long Road to Recovery

“…It is suggested that at discharge from hospital and at 3 months discharge from hospital all COVID-19 patients are screened for frailty with the FRAIL test ( 48 – 51 ), sarcopenia with the SARC-F ( 52 – 55 ), anorexia with the SNAQ ( 56 , 57 ) and cognitive failure with the Rapid Cognitive Screen (RCS) ( 58 ). These tests are simply combined into the RAPID Geriatric Assessment ( 59 , 60 ) and are available in an App form ( 61 ). Persons who screen positive and need to receive appropriate therapy which needs to be provided free to the individual.…”