• Combining fatigue assessment with serum GCSF levels significantly improves the accuracy of serological screening for frailty in elderly populations.
• Frailty and normal aging exhibit distinct inflammatory niches, with only two senescence-associated secretory phenotype genes negatively correlated with frailty.
• The study identified a frailty prevalence of 7.16% and prefrailty prevalence of 41.90% among 852 community-dwelling elderly, highlighting the need for effective screening.
• The proposed screening strategy offers a rapid, objective, and minimally invasive alternative to traditional frailty assessments, potentially enabling widespread clinical adoption.