Functional fitness and risk factors of older patients with diabetes combined with sarcopenia and/or frailty: A cross-sectional study.
Hui Zhang, Jinping Wang, Jing Xi and 2 others
PMID 38214433WHAT IT FOUND
In hospitalized older adults with diabetes, those with frailty or sarcopenia had lower strength, walking, balance, and flexibility.
A shorter 6-minute walk distance was linked to frailty or sarcopenia and can help flag mobility decline.
Key findings
01Of 205 older adults with diabetes, 69 (33.7%) had frailty and/or sarcopenia.
02The frailty or sarcopenia group had shorter 6-minute walk distance, fewer arm curls and chair stands, poorer flexibility, and longer 8-foot up-and-go time than the group without frailty or sarcopenia.
03The analysis linked smaller calf circumference, lower physical activity, insulin treatment, and shorter 6-minute walk distance to frailty or sarcopenia.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
It was a single-centre convenience sample of hospitalized patients, so results may not apply to older adults living in the community. All data were collected during one hospital stay, so the study cannot show whether frailty or sarcopenia came before lower fitness or low activity. The groups differed by about 3 years in age, which may influence the results. The sarcopenia, frailty, and combined subgroups were small, so subgroup patterns should be read cautiously. People with diabetic foot, lower-limb movement problems, acute complications, exercise contraindications, metal implants, or mental disease were excluded, so it says little about more complex inpatients.
Declared interests
The work was supported by the funding source listed in the paper. The supplied text does not report competing interests.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that exercise or nursing care prevents frailty or sarcopenia. This was a cross-sectional study at a single centre and did not test an intervention. It measured associations at one time point.