Final answer:
The five Frailty Criteria include unintentional weight loss, exhaustion, weakness, slow walking speed, and low physical activity. A person meeting three or more criteria is considered frail. Frailty implies a higher risk of adverse health outcomes and is influenced by genetic, biological, environmental, and socioeconomic factors.
Step-by-step explanation:
The five Frailty Criteria developed by Johns Hopkins University are commonly used to assess frailty in older adults. These criteria include:
- Unintentional weight loss (10 pounds or more in the past year)
- Self-reported exhaustion
- Weakness (grip strength)
- Slow walking speed
- Low physical activity
A person is considered frail if they meet three or more of these criteria. Frailty is important as it indicates a higher vulnerability to adverse health outcomes, including falls, disability, hospitalization, and mortality. Factors that may contribute to someone's frailty include genetic, biological, environmental, and socioeconomic components. These elements shape an individual's risk of death relative to others and lead to selective mortality, where those with the highest frailty tend to die earlier than others. This concept is discussed in Aalen's 1994 research on the Effects of Frailty in Survival Analysis.