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Review
. 2021 Dec 16:12:813398.
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.813398. eCollection 2021.

Cognitive Frailty: An Update

David Facal  1 , Clara Burgo  1 , Carlos Spuch  2 , Pedro Gaspar  3 , María Campos-Magdaleno  1
Affiliations
Review

Cognitive Frailty: An Update

David Facal et al. Front Psychol. .

Abstract

This review article provides an update of the empirical research on cognitive fragility conducted in the last four years. The studies retrieved were classified in four different categories. The first category includes articles relating cognitive frailty to cognitive reserve and which continue to highlight the importance of educational level. The second category includes recent research on cognitive fragility biomarkers, involving neuroimaging, metabolism and, in a novel way, microbiota. The third category includes research on how cognitive frailty is related to motor development and physical functioning, exploring e.g. the use of technology to study motor markers of cognitive frailty. Finally, in the fourth category, research clarifying the difference between reversible frailty and potentially reversible cognitive frailty has led to new interventions aimed at reducing cognitive frailty and preventing negative health outcomes. Interventions based on physical activity and multicomponent interventions are particularly emphasized. In addition, recent research explores the long-term effects of dual interventions in older adults living in nursing homes. In summary, research on cognitive frailty has increased in recent years, and applied aspects have gained importance.

Keywords: biomarkers; cognitive reserve; dual-task intervention; frailty; mild cognitive impairment; multicomponent intervention programs; physical activity; subjective cognitive decline.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

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