What is social frailty?

Frailty, as a syndrome, has long been recognised for its multifaceted nature, encompassing physical, cognitive and clinical dimensions, particularly among older populations. This complexity is vividly highlighted in a new virtual issue of the Australasian Journal on Ageing (AJA), which brings together a collection of the journal's most recent articles on frailty. Within the spectrum of frailty categorisations, one consistent thread has been the role of social factors and/or circumstances in precipitating the various manifestations of frailty. Social frailty, a term that encapsulates an individual's state of social vulnerability and the lack of capacity to maintain and develop social relationships and networks, has emerged as a critical predictor of health outcomes in older people.