Nutritional Status and Frailty amongst Elderly People with Diabetes at Endocrine and Diabetes Centres in Baghdad City, Iraq.

Abstract

Background: Diabetes exacerbates frailty syndrome in elderly adults, with long-term protein and calorie deficiencies contributing to physical decline and worsening health outcomes.

Objective: To assess nutritional status and frailty amongst elderly people with diabetes mellitus and to find out the relation between these two variables.

Subjects and methods: An analytic cross-sectional study was conducted amongst 650 elderly with diabetes mellitus at two endocrine and diabetes centres in Baghdad City-Iraq from February to June 2024. Data were collected using 'Mini Nutritional Assessment questionnaire to assess the nutritional status and Physical Frailty Phenotype scale' to assess frailty status amongst the elderly. Data were analysed utilising the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences software (SPSS) version 28.

Results: Results of 650 elderly with diabetes revealed that 42.6% were aged between 60 and 69 years old, 59.8% were males, 72% lived in rural areas, 89.4% were married, 55.8% were not working, and 67.1% suffered from hypertension. The finding indicated that more than half of the elderly with diabetes suffered from malnutrition and frailty. There was a highly significant correlation between diabetes elderly nutritional status and their physical frailty amongst the elderly with diabetes.

Conclusion: Nutritional status is a pivotal determinant in the development of frailty amongst elderly individuals with diabetes, with malnutrition significantly contributing to the progression of their condition.