Estudio del perfil clínico y neuropsicológico del síndrome de fragilidad

Abstract

The relationship between physical frailty and cognitive decline in older adults has been little explored, despite being two of the geriatric syndromes that have worse impacts on the health of the elderly, and that the likelihood of them coexisting increases with aging. To delve into this aspect, this thesis collects two studies: the first explores the neuropsychological profile of the preclinical stage of frailty in community-dwelling older adults, and the second investigates differences in performance and cognitive-motor interference in dual and triple tasks in prefrail and frail institutionalized older individuals. Our results associated prefrailty status with the presence of worse neuropsychological performance that primarily affects memory domain, and relate specific components of frailty, such as gait speed and grip strength, to cognitive execution. On the other hand, differences were observed between prefrail and frail subjects in performance in triple tasks, of high attentional demand. This can have clinical implications for early identification and prevention of frailty. Both studies have allowed us to deepen into the concept of cognitive frailty.