[Diabetes and frailty in the elderly. A prospective study of an outpatient population supported by general practitioners].
REVUE MEDICALE DE LIEGE 2021;
76:817-823. [PMID:
34738756]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION
Elderly people with diabetes represent a large and growing part of the general practitioners patient database, but their state of frailty compared to the non-diabetic population is poorly understood.
OBJECTIVE
To study the relationship between diabetes and frailty in people aged 65 and over in primary care.
METHOD
Frailty syndrome was assessed by the Fried Scale and compared between populations of diabetic and non-diabetic patients; 268 patients were studied, including 129 diabetic patients.
RESULTS
Frailty was found in 27.9 % of older diabetic patients. The observed mean Fried score was 1.76 in people with diabetes versus 1.39 in non-diabetics, with more frail diabetic subjects (p = 0.007). In this study, HbA1c levels showed no significant association to frailty.
CONCLUSION
Larger studies in several general practice clinics should be performed on subjects over 65 years of age with or without diabetes.
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