In order to identify risk factors for a specific illness or syndrome (in the case of frailty), observational studies,especially prospective ones, provide essential insight. Frailty research is an emerging field, and much of what we know about potential risk factors for this syndrome must be obtained from cross-sectional observational studies.In this article, we will review the
findings from the study by Woods et al described above, the largest and most comprehensive study to date that has examined potential risk factors for frailty in a prospective fashion, as well as from other cross-sectional studies on potential risk factors for frailty. This review is organized into categories of potential risk factors: physiologic, medical illness/comorbidity, sociodemographic and psychological, and disability