Inflammation and frailty measures in older people
Open accessAbstract
Inflammation in patients defined as frail by Fried’s phenotypic definition may be related to sarcopenia. This study aimed to investigate inflammation in older patients across different frailty criteria. Frailty status was determined in 110 patients aged over 75 years (mean 83.9 years) according to function (dependent, intermediate, independent); Fried (three or more items of exhaustion, weight loss, slow walking speed, low handgrip strength, low physical activity) and Frailty Index (a measure of accumulated deficits). With increasing patient frailty as defined by function and by Fried phenotype, tumour necrosis factor‐α (TNF‐α), interleukin‐6 (IL‐6) and C‐reactive protein (CRP) increased significantly. Albumin was lowest in the frailest subjects by each definition. The greatest differences were seen between intermediate and dependent groups and between the pre‐frail and frail. Adjustment for multiple covariates (age, sex, BMI category, smoking status, number of co‐morbidities and number of prescribed medications) did not account for any of the observed differences in levels of inflammatory markers. The Frailty Index correlated significantly with log‐transformed CRP ( r = 0.221, P < 0.05), log‐transformed IL‐6 ( r = 0.369, P < 0.01), TNF‐α ( r = 0.379, P < 0.01) and inversely with albumin ( r =– 0.545, P < 0.01). This study provides further evidence linking inflammation and frailty in older people, an association that seems consistent across different frailty measures.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Several inflammatory markers-IL-6, CRP, TNFα and CXCL-10 among them-have each been independently linked to frailty.
“A range of inflammatory cytokines have been independently associated with frailty including interleukin-6 (IL-6), C-reactive protein (CRP), tumour necrosis factor-α (TNFα) and CXC chemokine ligand-10 (CXCL-10), a potent pro-inflammatory mediator (52, 54-58).”
From Frailty in elderly people (2013) · cites this paper as [54]
Inflammation appears central to frailty via an abnormal low-grade state that overreacts to stimuli and remains active long after the trigger is gone.
“There is evidence that inflammation has a key role in the pathophysiology of frailty through an abnormal, low-grade inflammatory response that is hyper-responsive to stimuli and that persists for a prolonged period following removal of the initial inflammatory stimulus (19, 52-57).”
From Frailty in elderly people (2013) · cites this paper as [54]
Most patients with frailty have chronic inflammation, especially those with sarcopenia.
“most patients with frailty have chronic inflammation, especially those who are affected by sarcopenia”
From Inflammageing: chronic inflammation in ageing, cardiovascular disease, and frailty (2018) · cites this paper as [232]
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
Frailty in Older Adults: Evidence for a Phenotype
Fried, L. P., Tangen, C. M., Walston, J., Newman, A. B., Hirsch, C., Gottdiener, J., Seeman, T., Tracy, R., Kop, W. J., Burke, G., et al. (2001) · The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences · doi:10.1093/gerona/56.3.m146 · Cited by 24,907 · see citing works
Acute-Phase Proteins and Other Systemic Responses to Inflammation
Gabay, C., & Kushner, I. (1999) · New England Journal of Medicine · doi:10.1056/nejm199902113400607 · Cited by 6,734 · see citing works
Frailty in relation to the accumulation of deficits
Rockwood, K., & Mitnitski, A. (2007) · The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences · doi:10.1093/gerona/62.7.722 · Cited by 3,076 · see citing works
A comparison of two approaches to measuring frailty in elderly people
Rockwood, K., Andrew, M., & Mitnitski, A. (2007) · The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences · doi:10.1093/gerona/62.7.738 · Cited by 1,291 · see citing works
Phenotype of frailty: characterization in the women's health and aging studies
Bandeen-Roche, K., Xue, Q.-L., Ferrucci, L., Walston, J., Guralnik, J. M., Chaves, P., Zeger, S. L., & Fried, L. P. (2006) · The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences · doi:10.1093/gerona/61.3.262 · Cited by 1,215 · see citing works
Transitions between frailty states among community-living older persons
Gill, T. M., Gahbauer, E. A., Allore, H. G., & Han, L. (2006) · Archives of Internal Medicine · doi:10.1001/archinte.166.4.418 · Cited by 1,141 · cited 1× · see citing works
“The variables were not operationalized exactly as proposed by Fried and colleagues [8], although similar modifications have been made by others who have replicated the work [33].”
BackgroundFrailty: An Emerging Research and Clinical Paradigm--Issues and Controversies
Bergman, H., Ferrucci, L., Guralnik, J., Hogan, D. B., Hummel, S., Karunananthan, S., & Wolfson, C. (2007) · The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences · doi:10.1093/gerona/62.7.731 · Cited by 1,134 · see citing works
The I.A.N.A. task force on frailty assessment of older people in clinical practice
Van Kan, G. A., Rolland, Y., Bergman, H., Morley, J. E., Kritchevsky, S. B., & Vellas, B. (2008) · The Journal of nutrition, health and aging · doi:10.1007/bf02982161 · Cited by 1,099 · see citing works
Walston, J. (2002) · Archives of Internal Medicine · doi:10.1001/archinte.162.20.2333 · Cited by 940 · see citing works
Inflammatory mediators in the elderly
Krabbe, K. S., Pedersen, M., & Bruunsgaard, H. (2004) · Experimental Gerontology · doi:10.1016/j.exger.2004.01.009 · Cited by 928 · see citing works
Inflammatory Markers and Physical Performance in Older Persons: The InCHIANTI Study
Cesari, M., Penninx, B. W. J. H., Pahor, M., Lauretani, F., Corsi, A. M., Williams, G. R., Guralnik, J. M., & Ferrucci, L. (2004) · The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences · doi:10.1093/gerona/59.3.m242 · Cited by 901 · see citing works
Serum IL‐6 Level and the Development of Disability in Older Persons
Ferrucci, L., Harris, T. B., Guralnik, J. M., Tracy, R. P., Corti, M., Cohen, H. J., Penninx, B., Pahor, M., Wallace, R., & Havlik, R. J. (1999) · Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · doi:10.1111/j.1532-5415.1999.tb01583.x · Cited by 809 · see citing works
Interleukin-6 in Aging and Chronic Disease: A Magnificent Pathway
Maggio, M. G., Guralnik, J. M., Longo, D. L., & Ferrucci, L. (2006) · The Journals of Gerontology Series A · doi:10.1093/gerona/61.6.575 · Cited by 687 · see citing works
Frailty: An Emerging Geriatric Syndrome
Ahmed, N. N., Mandel, R., & Fain, M. J. (2007) · The American Journal of Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.amjmed.2006.10.018 · Cited by 448 · see citing works
Toward an Understanding of Frailty
Hamerman, D. (1999) · Annals of Internal Medicine · doi:10.7326/0003-4819-130-11-199906010-00022 · Cited by 441 · see citing works
Inflammation and frailty in older women
Leng, S. X., Xue, Q., Tian, J., Walston, J. D., & Fried, L. P. (2007) · Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · doi:10.1111/j.1532-5415.2007.01186.x · Cited by 425 · see citing works
Models, Definitions, and Criteria of Frailty
Hogan, D. B. (2006) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-012369391-4/50051-5 · Cited by 410 · see citing works
Conceptualizations of frailty in relation to older adults
Markle‐Reid, M., & Browne, G. B. (2003) · Journal of Advanced Nursing · doi:10.1046/j.1365-2648.2003.02767.x · Cited by 401 · see citing works
Roubenoff, R., Parise, H., Payette, H., Abad, L. W., D’Agostino, R. B., Jacques, P. F., Wilson, P. W. F., Dinarello, C. A., & Harris, T. B. (2003) · The American Journal of Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.amjmed.2003.05.001 · Cited by 397 · see citing works
Inflammation markers predicting frailty and mortality in the elderly
Martinis, M. D., Franceschi, C., Monti, D., & Ginaldi, L. (2006) · Experimental and Molecular Pathology · doi:10.1016/j.yexmp.2005.11.004 · Cited by 341 · see citing works
Cohen, H. J., Harris, T., & Pieper, C. F. (2003) · The American Journal of Medicine · doi:10.1016/s0002-9343(02)01484-5 · Cited by 327 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Increased levels of IL-6 have been linked to physical decline and disability [36, 37], and the development of age-related conditions such as dementia, Parkinson’s disease, atherosclerosis and type 2 diabetes is associated with elevated levels of inflammatory mediators [38].”
BackgroundElevated levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha and mortality in centenarians
Bruunsgaard, H., Andersen-Ranberg, K., Hjelmborg, J. V. B., Pedersen, B. K., & Jeune, B. (2003) · The American Journal of Medicine · doi:10.1016/s0002-9343(03)00329-2 · Cited by 325 · see citing works
Sex Differences in the Risk of Frailty for Mortality Independent of Disability and Chronic Diseases
Puts, M. T. E., Lips, P. T. A. M., & Deeg, D. J. H. (2004) · Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · doi:10.1111/j.1532-5415.2005.53008.x · Cited by 295 · see citing works
Cappola, A. R., Xue, Q.-L., Ferrucci, L., Guralnik, J. M., Volpato, S., & Fried, L. P. (2003) · The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism · doi:10.1210/jc.2002-021694 · Cited by 286 · see citing works
Schmaltz, H. N., Fried, L. P., Xue, Q., Walston, J. D., Leng, S. X., & Semba, R. D. (2005) · Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · doi:10.1111/j.1532-5415.2005.53250.x · Cited by 240 · see citing works
Howard, C., Ferrucci, L., Sun, K., Fried, L. P., Walston, J., Varadhan, R., Guralnik, J. M., & Semba, R. D. (2007) · Journal of Applied Physiology · doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.00133.2007 · Cited by 214 · see citing works
Cytokine-Related Aging Process
Morley, J. E., & Baumgartner, R. (2004) · The Journals of Gerontology Series A · doi:10.1093/gerona/59.9.m924 · Cited by 189 · see citing works
Obesity, Physical Function, and Mortality in Older Adults
Lang, I., Llewellyn, D. J., Alexander, K., & Melzer, D. R. (2008) · Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · doi:10.1111/j.1532-5415.2008.01813.x · Cited by 180 · see citing works
Toth, M. J., Matthews, D. E., Tracy, R. P., & Previs, M. J. (2004) · American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology and Metabolism · doi:10.1152/ajpendo.00353.2004 · Cited by 169 · see citing works
A comparison of three methods for estimating height in the acutely ill elderly population
Hickson, M., & Frost, G. S. (2003) · Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics · doi:10.1046/j.1365-277x.2003.00416.x · Cited by 161 · see citing works
Characterising frailty in the clinical setting--a comparison of different approaches
Hubbard, R. E., O'Mahony, M. S., & Woodhouse, K. W. (2008) · Age and Ageing · doi:10.1093/ageing/afn252 · Cited by 140 · see citing works
Self-citationNutrition, Inflammation, and Leptin Levels in Aging and Frailty
Hubbard, R. E., O'Mahony, M. S., Calver, B. L., & WOODHOUSE, K. W. (2008) · Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · doi:10.1111/j.1532-5415.2007.01548.x · Cited by 116 · see citing works
Self-citationEvaluation of a Self-Report Screening Instrument to Predict Frailty Outcomes in Aging Populations
Brody, K. K., Johnson, R. E., & Ried, L. D. (1997) · The Gerontologist · doi:10.1093/geront/37.2.182 · Cited by 108 · see citing works
Frailty: constructing a common meaning, definition, and conceptual framework.
Brown, I., Renwick, R. M., & Raphael, D. (1995) · PubMed · Cited by 107 · see citing works
Mitnitski, A., Bao, L., & Rockwood, K. J. (2006) · Mechanisms of Ageing and Development · doi:10.1016/j.mad.2006.01.007 · Cited by 106 · see citing works
WOODHOUSE, K. W., Wynne, H., Baillie, S., et al. (1988) · PubMed · Cited by 105 · see citing works
Self-citationFrailty Thy Name Is ... Phrailty?
Whitson, H. E., Purser, J. L., & Cohen, H. J. (2007) · The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences · doi:10.1093/gerona/62.7.728 · Cited by 97 · see citing works
BROWN, I., RENWICK, R., & Raphael, D. (1995) · International Journal of Rehabilitation Research · doi:10.1097/00004356-199506000-00001 · Cited by 92 · see citing works
Wang, X., Hurme, M., Jylhä, M. K., & Hervonen, A. (2001) · Mechanisms of Ageing and Development · doi:10.1016/s0047-6374(01)00338-4 · Cited by 91 · see citing works
Fisher, A. L. (2005) · Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · doi:10.1111/j.1532-5415.2005.00510.x · Cited by 87 · see citing works
FRAILTY CRITERIA GIVE HETEROGENEOUS RESULTS WHEN APPLIED IN CLINICAL PRACTICE
van Iersel, M. B., & Rikkert, M. G. M. O. (2006) · Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · doi:10.1111/j.1532-5415.2006.00668_14.x · Cited by 81 · see citing works
A gripping reality: oxidative stress, inflammation, and the pathway to frailty
Ershler, W. B. (2007) · Journal of Applied Physiology · doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.00375.2007 · Cited by 54 · see citing works
Pedersen, A. N., Ovesen, L., Schroll, M., Avlund, K., & Era, P. A. (2002) · PubMed · Cited by 42 · see citing works
Serum Levels of IL‐6 and Development of Disability in Older Persons
Kuller, L. H. (1999) · Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · doi:10.1111/j.1532-5415.1999.tb01604.x · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Frailty and the Foolishness of Eos
Ferrucci, L., Mahallati, A., & Simonsick, E. M. (2006) · The Journals of Gerontology Series A · doi:10.1093/gerona/61.3.260 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Mayot, G., Vidal, K., Combaret, L., Breuillé, D., Blum, S., Obled, C., & Papet, I. (2007) · Experimental Gerontology · doi:10.1016/j.exger.2007.09.002 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Clegg, A., Young, J., Iliffe, S., Rikkert, M. O., & Rockwood, K. (2013) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(12)62167-9 · Cited by 9,503 · see citing works
Inflammageing: chronic inflammation in ageing, cardiovascular disease, and frailty
Ferrucci, L., & Fabbri, E. (2018) · Nature Reviews Cardiology · doi:10.1038/s41569-018-0064-2 · Cited by 3,690 · see citing works
Inflammation and frailty in the elderly: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Soysal, P., Stubbs, B., Lucato, P., Luchini, C., Solmi, M., Peluso, R., Sergi, G., Isik, A. T., Manzato, E., Maggi, S., et al. (2016) · Ageing Research Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.arr.2016.08.006 · Cited by 1,089 · see citing works
Proinflammatory Cytokines, Aging, and Age-Related Diseases
Michaud, M., Balardy, L., Moulis, G., Gaudin, C., Peyrot, C., Vellas, B., Cesari, M., & Nourhashemi, F. (2013) · Journal of the American Medical Directors Association · doi:10.1016/j.jamda.2013.05.009 · Cited by 1,094 · see citing works
Collerton, J., Martin-Ruiz, C., Davies, K., Hilkens, C. M., Isaacs, J., Kolenda, C., Parker, C., Dunn, M., Catt, M., Jagger, C., et al. (2012) · Mechanisms of Ageing and Development · doi:10.1016/j.mad.2012.05.005 · Cited by 420 · see citing works
Effect of a Prebiotic Formulation on Frailty Syndrome: A Randomized, Double-Blind Clinical Trial
Buigues, C., Fernández-Garrido, J., Pruimboom, L., Hoogland, A., Navarro-Martínez, R., Martínez-Martínez, M., Verdejo, Y., Mascarós, M., Peris, C., & Cauli, O. (2016) · International Journal of Molecular Sciences · doi:10.3390/ijms17060932 · Cited by 222 · see citing works
Frailty phenotypes, disability, and outcomes in adult candidates for lung transplantation
Singer, J. P., Diamond, J. M., Gries, C. J., McDonnough, J., Blanc, P. D., Shah, R., Dean, M. Y., Hersh, B., Wolters, P. J., Tokman, S., et al. (2015) · American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine · doi:10.1164/rccm.201506-1150oc · Cited by 224 · see citing works
Biomarkers of oxidative stress are associated with frailty: the Framingham Offspring Study
Liu, C. K., Lyass, A., Larson, M. G., Massaro, J. M., Wang, N., D’Agostino, R. B., Benjamin, E. J., & Murabito, J. M. (2016) · AGE · doi:10.1007/s11357-015-9864-z · Cited by 157 · see citing works
Telomere/telomerase dynamics within the human immune system: Effect of chronic infection and stress
Effros, R. B. (2011) · Experimental Gerontology · doi:10.1016/j.exger.2010.08.027 · Cited by 137 · see citing works
Frailty phenotypes and mortality after lung transplantation: a prospective cohort study
Singer, J. P., Diamond, J. M., Anderson, M. R., Katz, P. P., Covinsky, K., Oyster, M., Blue, T., Soong, A., Kalman, L., Shrestha, P., et al. (2018) · American Journal of Transplantation · doi:10.1111/ajt.14873 · Cited by 133 · see citing works
Huffman, D. M., Justice, J. N., Stout, M. B., Kirkland, J. L., Barzilai, N., & Austad, S. N. (2016) · The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences · doi:10.1093/gerona/glw106 · Cited by 52 · see citing works
Gondal, A. B., Hsu, C.-H., Zeeshan, M., Hamidi, M., Joseph, B., & Ghaderi, I. (2019) · Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases · doi:10.1016/j.soard.2019.06.028 · Cited by 46 · see citing works
Haider, S., Grabovac, I., Winzer, E., Kapan, A., Schindler, K. E., Lackinger, C., Titze, S., & Dorner, T. E. (2017) · PLOS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0185879 · Cited by 24 · see citing works
- Authors
- Hubbard, R. E., O’Mahony, M. S., Savva, G. M., Calver, B. L., & Woodhouse, K. W.
- Affiliations
- University Hospital Llandough (GB)
- University of Cambridge (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Hubbard, Ruth E.
- Venue
- Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2009-09
- Volume
- 13
- Issue
- 9b
- Pages
- 3103-3109
- ISSN
- 1582-1838 (ISSN-L)
- 1582-4934
- PMC
- PMC4516469
- OpenAlex
- W2040542758
- Cited by
- 393
- References
- 46
- Citations by year
- 2026: 14 · 2025: 25 · 2024: 18 · 2023: 17 · 2022: 27 · 2021: 31 · 2020: 35 · 2019: 41 · 2018: 37 · 2017: 29 · 2016: 20 · 2015: 26 · 2014: 12 · 2013: 19 · 2012: 17
- FWCI
- 9.72
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- ORCA Online Research @Cardiff (Cardiff University) (acceptedVersion)
- UEA Digital Repository (University of East Anglia) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Geriatrics and Gerontology › Frailty in Older Adults
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Nutrition and Health in Aging
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Sepsis Diagnosis and Treatment
- Keywords
- frailty, inflammation, older adults, Fried frailty phenotype, frailty index, TNF-α, interleukin-6, C-reactive protein, albumin, sarcopenia, functional status, pre-frailty
- MeSH terms
- Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Albumins, C-Reactive Protein, Female, Humans, Inflammation, Male, Phenotype, Smoking, Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha, Interleukin-6, Comorbidity, Body Mass Index, Frail Elderly
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
