Kudos to PhD student Shamatree Shakya and her advisors Associate Professors Michael Cary and Susan Silva for the submission of her SNRS proposal entitled: "The Impact of Initial Frailty Status and Cardiometabolic Syndrome on the Development of Frailty in Older Adults." This proposal requests funds for a one year period with a start date of January 1, 2021.

Nearly half (45.5%) of all US older adults are pre-frail, and 15.3% are frail. Prior research suggests socio-demographics, smoking, and chronic conditions increase an older adult’s risk of developing frailty. Existing studies have found that cardiac risk factors and frailty co-exist; however, it is unclear if cardiometabolic syndrome impacts the development of frailty.

This study aims to: 1) examine the development of frailty among baseline pre-frail compared to non-frail older adults over time, covarying for socio-demographics, smoking, and chronic conditions, and 2) explore the moderating effect of cardiometabolic syndrome on the development of frailty among baseline pre-frail compared to non-frail older adults, covarying for socio-demographics, smoking, and chronic conditions.

This longitudinal study will use secondary data from the Health and Retirement Study. The sample size includes 5,627 community-residing older adults (N=1,133 non-frail and N=4,494 pre-frail older adults at baseline) who were followed over eight years. General Estimation Equations will be used to explore the moderating effect of cardiometabolic syndrome on the development of frailty among baseline pre-frail compared to non-frail older adults.

Findings from this study will be critical to design effective interventions at earlier stages along the continuum of frailty in community-residing older adults.