Francesco Saverio Bersani1, Marco Canevelli2, Matteo Cesari3, Eleonora Maggioni4, Massimo Pasquini5, Owen M Wolkowitz6, Stefano Ferracuti5, Massimo Biondi5, Giuseppe Bruno5. 1. Department of Human Neurosciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy. Electronic address: francescosaverio.bersani@uniroma1.it. 2. Department of Human Neurosciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy; National Center for Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, National Institute of Health, Rome, Italy. 3. Fondazione IRCCS Ca, Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy; Geriatric Unit, Department of Clinical Sciences and Community Health, University of Milan, Milan, Italy. 4. Department of Neurosciences and Mental Health, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy. 5. Department of Human Neurosciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy. 6. Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, USA.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Serious mental illnesses may be characterized by accelerated biological aging, and over the last years the research on the topic has been stimulated by studies exploring the molecular underpinnings of senescence. METHODS: In the present manuscript we propose that measuring frailty, a general product of organismal ageing, through the "Frailty Index" (FI), a recently-emerged macroscopic indicator of functional status and biological age, adds an important marker to the measurements currently implemented in the study of accelerated biological age in psychiatric illnesses. RESULTS: The FI quantifies functional negative health attributes and measures their cumulative effect, thus providing a useful estimate of the individual's biological age and risk profile. Recent studies in older adults have observed significant associations between FI and molecular measures of aging. LIMITATIONS: High FI values can be driven by causes different from aging per se, so FI may be a sensitive but not specific measure of biological aging. CONCLUSIONS: FI, which is extensively used in geriatrics and gerontology but it has rarely been used in relation to mental health, may be of relevance in the evaluation of age-related phenomena associated with psychiatric diseases.
BACKGROUND: Serious mental illnesses may be characterized by accelerated biological aging, and over the last years the research on the topic has been stimulated by studies exploring the molecular underpinnings of senescence. METHODS: In the present manuscript we propose that measuring frailty, a general product of organismal ageing, through the "Frailty Index" (FI), a recently-emerged macroscopic indicator of functional status and biological age, adds an important marker to the measurements currently implemented in the study of accelerated biological age in psychiatric illnesses. RESULTS: The FI quantifies functional negative health attributes and measures their cumulative effect, thus providing a useful estimate of the individual's biological age and risk profile. Recent studies in older adults have observed significant associations between FI and molecular measures of aging. LIMITATIONS: High FI values can be driven by causes different from aging per se, so FI may be a sensitive but not specific measure of biological aging. CONCLUSIONS: FI, which is extensively used in geriatrics and gerontology but it has rarely been used in relation to mental health, may be of relevance in the evaluation of age-related phenomena associated with psychiatric diseases.
Authors: Ella Pearson; Dan Siskind; Ruth Hubbard; Emily Gordon; Elizabeth Coulson; Urska Arnautovska; Nicola Warren Journal: Community Ment Health J Date: 2022-07-05
Authors: Benjamin J Seligman; Sarah D Berry; Lewis A Lipsitz; Thomas G Travison; Douglas P Kiel Journal: J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci Date: 2022-09-01 Impact factor: 6.591