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Polygenic Analysis Reveals Genetic Architecture of Frailty in Older Adults

The study provides a blueprint for testing genetic risk scores to identify individuals for preventive frailty interventions.

Image: ©Cavan Images | iStock
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Overview

  • A genome-wide scan of nearly one million participants in Finland and the U.K. uncovered 53 lead variants associated with frailty, including 45 loci never before reported.
  • Researchers integrated the Hospital Frailty Risk Score with FinnGen and UK Biobank data to link genetic signals to immune, neural, and metabolic pathways.
  • Colocalization analyses and proteomic integration confirmed causal roles for CGREF1, APOE, and PPP6C in driving frailty.
  • Ongoing work focuses on validating polygenic frailty scores in independent cohorts to refine individual risk prediction.
  • Plans are underway to design early intervention trials aimed at middle-aged adults identified as high risk by their genetic profiles.