Adult Social Care Glossary, v 0.6

Frailty is a distinct health state related to the ageing process in which multiple body systems gradually lose their in-built reserves. Around 10% of people aged over 65 years have frailty, rising to between a quarter and a half of those aged over 85 years. Older people living with frailty are at risk of adverse outcomes such as dramatic changes in their physical and mental wellbeing after an apparently minor event which challenges their health, such as an infection or new medication.

A condition that may develop as you get older and your body becomes less able to recover from illness or injury. It makes you more likely to become ill and to spend time in hospital. It is not an illness in itself, and is not the same as physical disability, although disability and frailty may overlap with each other.