International initiatives

Objectives: To detect good practices and new experiences of work with older people, that have proven to be successful in participant countries To develop tele-based training programmes (TV-Channel, apps, Internet-based) To promote transnational fora with Experts and...

AIM Coalition - Sarcopenia and ICD-10 Announcement - April 28, 2016 AIM press release Announcement and details, on the AIM (Aging In Motion) website

Frailty is a clinical syndrome frequently anticipating the onset of disability. Common clinical manifestations of frailty are unintentional weight loss, loss of muscle strength, self-reported exhaustion, slow walking speed, and low physical activity. The International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics – Global Aging Research Network (IAGG-GARN) has produced an awaraness video aimed at informing individuals over 65 years about the signs of frailty. This video is available in English, French, Chinese, Farsi, German, Italian, Korean, Potuguese and Spanish.

This European Innovation Partnership on Active and Heatlhy Aging infographic on frailty prevention gives an overview of the issue of frailty prevention to allow a better understanding of what it is, raise awareness and explain which actions are being undertaken by the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing in this field.

The SPRINTT project will aim at providing a clear, objective, scientifically sound, and clinically-relevant operational definition of Physical Frailty & Sarcopenia (PF&S). Then, it will test the effects of a multicomponent intervention versus a health educational program in the prevention of mobility disability in community-dwelling older persons with PF&S living in different European countries

Frailty is rapidly developing as a research field. This article lists ongoing clinical studies that evaluate clinical interventions aimed at preventing or delaying the onset of disability in older persons by targeting the frailty syndrome.

FRAILOMIC is an international initiative that aims to identify the markers, or biomarkers, of the processes that turn frailty into disability. The main objective of the study is to develop clinical instruments that can predict the risk of frailty, improve the diagnostic accuracy of frailty in day-to-day practice and assess prognosis in terms of disability and adverse outcomes.

Effective, affordable, and well-tolerated strategies that prevent or delay chronic disease at older age and prolong healthy life expectancy are urgently needed. DO-HEALTH is a large multicenter clinical trial that will define the role of vitamin D, omega-3 fatty acids and a simple home exercise program in extending healthy life expectancy and improving quality of life in European seniors.

The International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics (IAGG) – Global Aging Research Network (GARN) was commissioned by the WHO’s Department of Aging and Life Course to setup a group of 15 international experts to finalize a background paper on Frailty intended for the 2015 WHO Global Report on Ageing and Health. Held on October 8-9, 2014 at the WHO Headquarters in Geneva, the meeting aimed to raise awareness of the need to identify, assess and implement frailty around the world.

The European Commission is responding to the challenge of an ageing population with an ambitious initiative: the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing. One of the key actions identified by the Partnership is the prevention of frailty in old age. Building on this work, the European Commission is organising a second international conference on frailty in old age, entitled “Frailty in old age: identifying priorities for an EU policy”. The conference will take place in Brussels, Belgium, on June 18, 2014.

As a highly prevalent condition in the general older population, frailty is of special interest for public health authorities. Nevertheless, to date, its recognition as a “real” clinical condition worth to be identified, assessed, and treated remains insufficient. In order to address the urgent demands of knowledge and data in the field, the European Union Geriatric Medicine Society (EUGMS) has recently launched a new working group on “Frailty in older persons”.