More afraid of frailty than death.

• Position: The Elderly

"People are actually more afraid of frailty than they are of dying," main-rains Howard Fillit, executive director of the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation, New York, but "most elderly people, unless they die suddenly, will go through a four- to six-year period of increasing frailty. People going through frailty often experience an identity crisis, much like a young person's identity crisis, that can impact their ability to adapt to this stage of life.

"Frailty, the next-to-last stage of life, can actually turn into a positive and rewarding time in one's life. This can happen as long as an individual can adapt successfully to the new physical limits of dependency by setting realistic goals, embracing 'responsible dependency,' and settling into the wisdom of old age. By recognizing the 'frailty identity crisis,' the medical community can help patients and their...