Journal of the American Medical Directors Association
Original StudyDiabetes and Risk of Frailty and Its Potential Mechanisms: A Prospective Cohort Study of Older Adults
Section snippets
Study Participants and Design
We analyzed data from the Seniors-ENRICA cohort, whose methods have been reported elsewhere.13 This cohort was established in 2008–2010 with 2614 noninstitutionalized individuals aged 60 years or older. At baseline, computer-assisted telephone interviews were used to obtain information on sociodemographic factors, health behaviors, and morbidity. Additionally, home visits were performed to conduct a physical examination, obtain 12-hour fasting blood samples, and record usual diet and prescribed
Results
Table 1 shows the sociodemographic, lifestyle, clinical, and biochemical variables of the study participants, according to diabetic status. Compared with the nondiabetic individuals, those with diabetes were on average 1 year older, were more frequently men, had lower educational level, and showed a higher prevalence of tobacco consumption, obesity, and sedentary behavior. Also, they were less frequently moderate drinkers, showed a higher frequency of cardiovascular disease, a lower level of
Discussion
In this study of community-dwelling older adults in Spain, diabetes was associated with an increased risk of frailty over 3.5 years of follow-up. This increased risk was partly explained by unhealthy behaviors and obesity and, to a greater extent, by poor glucose control and altered serum lipid profile among diabetic individuals. Conversely, nutritional therapy modulated the increased risk of frailty observed among individuals with diabetes.
Patients with type 2 diabetes have an increased
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Baseline data collection was funded by Sanofi-Aventis. Data collection during follow-up was funded by the Spanish Government FIS grants 09/1626 and 09/0104 (Instituto de Salud Carlos III). Funding specific for this analysis was obtained from the Spanish Government FIS grant 12/1166 (Instituto de Salud Carlos III) and the FP7-HEALTH-2012-Proposal No: 305483–2 (FRAILOMIC Initiative). Funders had no role in data analyses, preparation of the manuscript, or in the decision to submit it for publication.
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.