老年族群最常見的死亡間接原因依序為衰弱(frailty, 27.9%)、器官衰竭(21.4%)、癌症(19.3%)、失智(13.8%)等;肌少症與衰弱症是一種常見的「geri- atric syndrome,老年症候群」;臨床上著重於預防,早期診斷及照護;目前傾向將老化視為衰弱發生的背景原因,加上與年齡相關的生理變化、環境、多種疾病與用 藥等多重因子間交互作用,導致老年族群產生衰弱症因素眾多,大致可歸納出內分泌系統失調、全身性發炎反應、骨骼肌肉系統變化與營養缺乏等,其中肌少型肥胖 症較受到矚目;許多生理機轉被提出與「衰弱症」有關,其中「肌少症」被認為與「衰弱症」、失智症有高度相關。

The most common indirect causes of death in the elderly population are frailty (27.9 %), organ failure (21.4%), cancer (19.3%), dementia (13.8%), etc. Sarcopenia and frailty are a common geriatric syndrome. Studies of these causes of death focuses on prevention, early diagnosis and long term care. The current tendency is to regard aging as the background cause of frailty, coupled with the interaction of multiple factors such as age-related physiological changes, envi- ronment, various diseases and medication. These factors lead to to frailty symp-toms in the elderly. There are many factors which can be roughly summarized as endocrine system disorders, and systemic inflammations. Changing of body composition in the skeletal muscle system may result from nutritional deficiencies among which sarcopenia obesity has attracted more attention. Many physiological mechanisms have been suggested to be related to frailty, among which sarcopenia is considered to be highly related to frailty.