Frailty is an age-related condition that impacts how well the body reacts to otherwise minor illnesses. While a healthy adult may experience only short-term symptoms from a common cold virus, someone experiencing frailty may be left with long-term impacts like delirium and instability.
Frailty is often used as an umbrella term for all age-related physical symptoms, but there’s much more to it than that. Becoming frail also impacts your cognitive and social abilities. Understanding frailty entirely can help you manage symptoms, slow progression down and potentially even reverse it.
Today, we’ll explore the different types of frailty to give you an idea of what to expect should you or a loved one begin experiencing symptoms.
What is Physical Frailty?
Physical frailty refers to how the condition impacts the body’s processes and functions, leading to symptoms and results that influence how the body responds to minor influences. Physical frailty can be categorised into five main symptoms:
- Unintentional weight loss
- Muscle loss and weakness
- Slowed movements
- Extreme exhaustion and fatigue
- Reduced activity levels
What is Cognitive Frailty?
Frailty doesn’t just impact the body’s processes—it can also cause cognitive impairments and decline. Symptoms of cognitive frailty often overlap with symptoms of dementia, making diagnosis a little more difficult. Symptoms of this type of frailty include:
- A decline in critical thinking abilities
- Trouble remembering short- and long-term memories
- Difficulties reasoning with themselves and others
- Speech, hearing and vision problems
What is Social Frailty?
Aside from the physical and cognitive impacts of frailty, it can also affect how a person lives moving forward. An active social life is incredibly important to our general health and well-being, so this form of frailty can impact and progress other types if not effectively treated.
Social frailty often looks like:
- Loss of interest in activities a person used to enjoy
- A lack of resources to attend social events, such as losing the ability to drive
- Severe exhaustion preventing conversations and check-ins with loved ones
- Feelings of isolation and loneliness
What Causes Physical, Cognitive and Social Frailty?
There are several causes of frailty, and you or your loved one might experience one or more causes. Frailty impacts everyone differently, so even if two people develop the condition due to the same cause, it’s not guaranteed that their symptoms will materialise in the same way.
For example, one person with diabetes-induced frailty may experience dramatic cognitive decline, while another notices a sharp decrease in their physical ability.
The most common causes of frailty in older adults include:
- Age-related changes: As we age, our body’s functions slow down and perform differently, influencing how it responds to minor illnesses and increasing frailty.
- Certain diseases: Adults with health conditions such as dementia and diabetes are more likely to become frail, with more rapid progression.
- Muscle loss and weakness: Older adults often lose muscle mass, which increases the risk of falling and developing frailty.
- Chronic conditions: Chronic conditions increase the amount of inflammation in the body, which uses up the immune system’s resources instead of making them available for minor ailments.
It’s important to note that most types of frailty can be slowed down or reversed before they progress to advanced stages. By managing the cause of frailty, such as taking medication for chronic conditions and gently exercising to reduce muscle loss, you may be able to slow down frailty syndrome symptoms and improve your quality of life.
The Importance of Diagnosing Frailty Early
Losing the body and mind’s resilience makes you more susceptible to illness, accidents and stress. With the population living longer, more people experience frailty and are therefore put at increased risk of falling and hospital stays. Frailty can develop and progress slowly, so catching it early gives you and your healthcare team the best chance at slowing progression or reversing symptoms altogether.
People who have regular health check-ups are more likely to find frailty red flags earlier, getting themselves targeted support and interventions to reduce hospital stays, falls and the need for assisted living.
While it’s preferable for no frailty symptoms to present themselves, catching them early is a good boost to get you living and ageing healthier than you were. One of the most recommended ways to slow down the condition is living well, including proper nutrition, gentle exercise, enough sleep and a good social life. Early diagnosis encourages people to live independently for longer.
Why Do the Different Types of Frailty Matter?
Most people consider ‘frailty’ to cover all physical, cognitive and social symptoms, so why does the specific type matter? Not only does a specific diagnosis help you get the correct treatment to slow down its progression, but it also provides you and your care team a better idea of what to expect in the future.
Physical Frailty
Becoming physically frail often increases your chances of falling, whether that be from a reduction in balance and coordination, loss of strength, or mobility struggles. Older adults are also more likely to experience osteoporosis, or weakened bones, which makes fractures a bigger risk after a fall.
Fractures lead to hospital stays, and existing frailty makes for longer recovery times. Traumatic injuries like this can influence mental health, confidence and make moving around even more difficult, which accelerates frailty symptoms. Physical frailty often leads to a loss of independence, but the good news is that it can be improved through rehabilitation and living healthily.
Cognitive Frailty
Experiencing a decline in memory, thinking or decision making makes everyday living much more difficult to do on your own. You might start forgetting things like when to take your medication, appointment times and even where you are. While frailty isn’t the same as dementia, these two conditions can overlap.
It’s important to differentiate between cognitive frailty and other types, because this form is often the most challenging for those experiencing it and their loved ones. It increases a person’s vulnerability, exposing them to risks of unsafe choices or being taken advantage of. The best support for cognitive frailty is early support and intervention from memory services, loved ones and carers.
Social Frailty
Social frailty refers to a sudden limitation on social connections, leading to a weak support network and feelings of loneliness. One of the biggest impacts of this type of frailty is on mental health and well-being. Loneliness is already much more common in older adults, and adding frailty into the mix can lead to depression and anxiety.
People experiencing social frailty also experience a more rapid decline, physically and mentally. A lack of social support, companionship and emotional connection has a higher risk of falls, hospitalisation and even earlier mortality. Social care is a wonderful resource for this condition, and support from family and friends is essential.
How Country Cousins Can Help
Frailty isn’t just physical—it can be multidimensional and materialise in different ways.
This is why it’s so important to seek professional help from a compassionate carer who has experience with different types of frailty. At Country Cousins, we’ll carefully match you with one of our fully trained carers to provide the best support and assistance.
Our private home care services include:
- Assistance with bathing, showering and dressing
- Stabilising and mobility support
- Transportation to appointments and social events
- Encouragement to continue your hobbies
- Companionship and emotional support
- Help with cooking nutritious meals
Addressing your specific symptoms can help personalise your care plan and find ways to slow down or even reverse frailty before it reaches advanced stages. A County Cousins carer will support you through this journey while maintaining a focus on dignity and independence.
Talk to Our Team Today
As the UK’s longest-serving introductory live-in care agency, we have been providing compassionate live-in care to those who need it since 1959—all from the comfort of their own homes.
Give us a call today on 01293 224 706. Our experienced team is on hand to help from Monday to Friday, 8 am to 6 pm. Alternatively, contact us through our online enquiry form.
