Page 28 - IJPS-11-1

International Journal of
Population Studies A review on early-life determinants of frailty

between risk factors in early-life stages and frailty in old Funding
age using more rigorous study designs and more advanced
analytic approaches. This endeavor is critically essential to This study was supported by the Kunshan Municipal
corroborate their causal relationships and, in turn, leads to Government Fund.
effective interventions. Fourth, frailty is a dynamic process Conflict of interest
instead of a static state; transitions between frailty states
over time are frequent among older adults (Gill et al., 2006; The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Mendonça et al., 2020; Walsh et al., 2023). Most, if not all, Author contributions
studies focused on the association between early-life risk
factors and the onset of frailty. Whether and how early-life Conceptualization: Chenkai Wu, Jirong Yue
circumstances contribute to the transition and progression Visualization: Mengyao Wang, Xuchao Peng
of frailty is largely unknown. More efforts should be
devoted to understanding their roles in frailty transitions, Writing — original draft: Hua Liu, Mengyao Wang
especially progression to death among the frail individuals. Writing — review & editing: All authors
While this review offers significant insights into the Ethics approval and consent to participate
early-life determinants of frailty, several limitations must
be acknowledged. First, most studies rely on retrospective Not applicable.
self-reports, which are prone to recall bias and inaccuracies.
Second, there is a predominance of studies conducted in Consent for publication
developed countries, potentially limiting the generalizability Not applicable.
of findings to low- and middle-income regions. Third, the
complexity and interconnectedness of various risk factors Availability of data
often needed to be fully addressed, necessitating more All data are secondary data from publicly available data
comprehensive and integrative methodologies. In addition, sources.
most of the research focuses on the onset of frailty, with a
limited investigation into how early-life factors influence References
the transition and progression of frailty over time. Finally, Alvarado, B.E., Zunzunegui, M.V., Béland, F., & Bamvita, J.M.
while associations have been established, the causal (2008). Life course social and health conditions linked
mechanisms underlying these relationships remain largely to frailty in Latin American older men and women. The
unexplored, highlighting the need for rigorous longitudinal Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and
studies and advanced analytic techniques to unravel these Medical Sciences, 63(12):1399-1406.
complex interactions. Future research should address these https://doi.org/10.1093/gerona/63.12.1399
gaps to provide a more holistic understanding of the early-
life determinants of frailty. Bai, G., Wang, Y., Mak, J.K., Ericsson, M., Hägg, S., & Jylhävä, J.
(2023). Is frailty different in younger adults compared to
In summary, over the past two decades, increasing old? Prevalence, characteristics, and risk factors of early-
attention has been paid to identifying early-life risk factors life and late-life frailty in samples from sweden and UK.
for frailty. Researchers have conducted empirical studies to Gerontology, 69(12):1385-1393.
examine whether and how early-life experience contributes https://doi.org/10.1159/000534131
to the development of frailty in old age in both developed
and developing countries and regions. A wide range of Barrera, A., Rezende, L.F., Sabag, A., Keating, C.J., & Rey-Lopez, J.P.
(2023). Understanding the causes of frailty using a life-
biological, social, lifestyle, and environmental factors in course perspective: A systematic review. Healthcare (Basel).
early-life stages have been linked to the onset of frailty in 12(1):22.
later life. These findings highlight the enduring impact of
early-life experiences on health and suggest the necessity https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare12010022
of studying the mechanisms and interventions of frailty Buta, B.J., Walston, J.D., Godino, J.G., Park, M., Kalyani, R.R.,
from a life course perspective. Interventions that improve Xue, Q.L., et al. (2016). Frailty assessment instruments:
early-life circumstances might delay or even prevent the Systematic characterization of the uses and contexts of highly-
emergence of frailty in middle and old age. cited instruments. Ageing Research Reviews, 26:53-61.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.arr.2015.12.003
Acknowledgments
Cigolle, C.T., Ofstedal, M.B., Tian, Z., & Blaum, C.S. (2009).
None. Comparing models of frailty: The health and retirement

Volume 11 Issue 1 (2025) 22 https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.1982