FEATUREFOCUS
The same lifestyle behaviors that support healthy aging in the general population are also likely to help reduce frailty risk in MS,”
said Dr. Zanotto. he explained.“ The more you accumulate, the harder it is to resist stressful damage and the harder it is to repair. People don’ t age at the same rate, and people with MS may age quicker than others.”
In an opinion piece published in The Lancet Neurology, Dr. Rockwood and his colleagues wrote that frailty is common in people with neurological illnesses, and many people referred to neurological services have health deficits beyond neurological issues. 3 And overlapping frailty and neurological deficits can complicate treatment decisions.
“ There’ s a growing body of literature on the burden of frailty in people with MS. It’ s hard to disentangle whether certain deficits are related to MS or whether there’ s something else going on,” Dr. Rockwood said.“ There may be comorbidities and other things that contribute to the degree of frailty.”
Comorbidities are common with MS. A 2026 study found that frailty, disability, and comorbidity are separate conditions in people with MS; each has distinct associations with falls and quality of life. 4
FRAILTY AND SOCIAL VULNERABILITY
Two older adults have the same medical condition. One needs to live in a nursing home while the other can remain at home with supportive care. Why such different outcomes? At least in part, it may have something to do with social vulnerability.
Research suggests a reciprocal relationship between frailty and social vulnerability in older adults. Social circumstances can make it harder to recover from serious health problems, and there are links between social vulnerability and cognition, disability, the need for long-term care, and mortality. 5
“ There’ s a benefit of interacting with other people,” said Dr. Rockwood.“ Our brains are built to socialize, and we get a lot of good out of it. It’ s part of what we’ ve evolved to do.” But for some people with MS, physical and cognitive impairments can be a problem.“ Impairments in mobility can interfere with opportunities for socializing,” Dr. Rockwood continued.“ There are remedies for that, but people often don’ t take advantage of them or [ don’ t ] get how important and how useful it can be for them.”
“ Women tend to be better at forming groups and forging bonds than men are,” said Dr. Rockwood.“ Lots of men, depending on the era they grew up in, have inhibitions. In theory, you can change. By a certain age, many things are baked in, but it’ s never too late to start. Be open and engaging and kind. A good approach to life is to have a reasonably optimistic frame of mind.”
6 | NARCOMS. org