The influence of hypertension management on frailty prevention among older persons aged 65 and over: a systematic review

Background: Frailty and hypertension are interrelated, but it remains unclear whether this relationship is modified by antihypertensive drugs. Methods and results: A systematic review of PubMed and Web of Science databases was performed to review the influence of hypertension management on preventing the occurrence or progression of frailty in older people aged 65 and over. Studies providing information on this association regardless of the study setting, or definition of hypertension and frailty were included. Among the initial 2298 articles identified, 7 were included in the review. Three observational studies assessed the association between frailty and hypertension. Two of them reported no relationship between Aldosterone Antagonists use and frailty prevention. No relationship between BP and incidence frailty after adjustment for hypertension treatment was observed in two other articles. An indirect relationship was reported in the RCTs included. Higher AT11RaAb levels (control group), can lead to a generalized weakness/frailty risk shown by a decrease in grip strength (r = –0.57, p < 0.005) and walking speed (r = – 0.47, p < 0.005). No significant differences between int-hypertensive intervention and control were observed in frailty status after a 12-weeks follow-up after applying three different frailty measurement tools in the other RCT. Conclusions: Based on the results of this systematic review we conclude that BP and frailty occur together but whether the treatment with anti-hypertensive drugs modifies this relationship remains unclear and needs to be further investigated.