Population aging represents the most evident ongoing sociodemographic phenomenon. The number of older persons is rapidly increasingly worldwide, from the most developed countries to the lowest-income regions. As a consequence, the nature of clinical conditions is also changing. Traditional medicine and models of care have been based on the evaluation and treatment of single and usually acute conditions occurring in relatively young individuals. Today, the usual clinical manifestation of diseases is characterized by multiple and often chronic conditions affecting older persons. The complexity is further enhanced by the fact that the relationship between diseases and risk of negative outcomes follows a non-linear trend. It is thus necessary to disentangle the new pathophysiological mechanisms of age-related conditions in order to 1) better understand the clinical manifestations, and 2) personalize clinical interventions and healthcare infrastructures.
In this scenario, frailty and dementia have been triggering special interest both in research and clinical settings due to their high prevalence, impact on the individual’s quality of life, and consequences for public health worldwide. These conditions aptly reflect the complexity of age-related pathological conditions, finding as causal factor a myriad of heterogeneous, interacting, and often still unclear pathophysiological processes. Indeed, their study is strongly affected by the difficulty to differentiate the effects of a normal aging process from eventual pathological deviations of the underlying systems. Their occurrence and trajectories over time are strongly affected by a wide array of factors and determinants that can be hardly attributed to the deficit/involvement of single biological systems and/or health domains. Moreover, environment and social factors also play a key role in the determination of phenotypes. Therefore, there is a growing awareness that these conditions require a broader understanding and holistic approach, in order to properly capture their biological and clinical peculiarities and to improve their management.
The present Research Topic is aimed at widening our understanding of the frailty and dementia phenomena occurring with aging, in order to improve the clinical and public health approaches to these burdening conditions. Authors from all medical and research fields and disciplines are invited to contribute to this collection original research, review articles, opinions, and perspectives stemming from their backgrounds and specialties. The ultimate goal is to depict the multidimensional nature of these heterogeneous conditions, their commonalities and challenging aspects manifested across social, clinical, and research settings. This Research Topic welcomes contributions from different fields (from basic science to public health, from translational to clinical research) with the overall goal of serving as reference and guidance for future interdisciplinary conversations on aging and age-related conditions.
Population aging represents the most evident ongoing sociodemographic phenomenon. The number of older persons is rapidly increasingly worldwide, from the most developed countries to the lowest-income regions. As a consequence, the nature of clinical conditions is also changing. Traditional medicine and models of care have been based on the evaluation and treatment of single and usually acute conditions occurring in relatively young individuals. Today, the usual clinical manifestation of diseases is characterized by multiple and often chronic conditions affecting older persons. The complexity is further enhanced by the fact that the relationship between diseases and risk of negative outcomes follows a non-linear trend. It is thus necessary to disentangle the new pathophysiological mechanisms of age-related conditions in order to 1) better understand the clinical manifestations, and 2) personalize clinical interventions and healthcare infrastructures.
In this scenario, frailty and dementia have been triggering special interest both in research and clinical settings due to their high prevalence, impact on the individual’s quality of life, and consequences for public health worldwide. These conditions aptly reflect the complexity of age-related pathological conditions, finding as causal factor a myriad of heterogeneous, interacting, and often still unclear pathophysiological processes. Indeed, their study is strongly affected by the difficulty to differentiate the effects of a normal aging process from eventual pathological deviations of the underlying systems. Their occurrence and trajectories over time are strongly affected by a wide array of factors and determinants that can be hardly attributed to the deficit/involvement of single biological systems and/or health domains. Moreover, environment and social factors also play a key role in the determination of phenotypes. Therefore, there is a growing awareness that these conditions require a broader understanding and holistic approach, in order to properly capture their biological and clinical peculiarities and to improve their management.
The present Research Topic is aimed at widening our understanding of the frailty and dementia phenomena occurring with aging, in order to improve the clinical and public health approaches to these burdening conditions. Authors from all medical and research fields and disciplines are invited to contribute to this collection original research, review articles, opinions, and perspectives stemming from their backgrounds and specialties. The ultimate goal is to depict the multidimensional nature of these heterogeneous conditions, their commonalities and challenging aspects manifested across social, clinical, and research settings. This Research Topic welcomes contributions from different fields (from basic science to public health, from translational to clinical research) with the overall goal of serving as reference and guidance for future interdisciplinary conversations on aging and age-related conditions.
