Background

Coexistence of frailty and chronic diseases including diabetes is related to a higher risk of adverse health outcomes. There is an increasing interest in the intersection of diabetes and frailty. Understanding the prevalence of frailty in older adults with diabetes is of great importance. However, estimates of the prevalence of frailty among this population varied widely in the relevant literature.

Objectives

To conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to estimate the overall prevalence of frailty and prefrailty among community-dwelling older adults with diabetes, and examine the risk factors associated with frailty in this population.

Methods

PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Wiley Cochrane Library, and Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health were searched from inception to May 30th, 2020. Investigators assessed eligibility, extracted data and evaluated methodological quality. The pooled prevalence of frailty and prefrailty was calculated using the random-effects model. Meta-regression analysis and subgroup analysis were conducted to explore sources of heterogeneity.

Results

A total of 32 studies met the inclusion criteria, involving 14,450 individuals. The pooled prevalence of frailty and prefrailty in older adults with diabetes was 20.1% (95% CI = 16.0–24.2%) and 49.1% (95%CI = 45.1–53.1%), respectively, with significant heterogeneity across the studies. Frailty was more prevalent in older adults with diabetes than those without diabetes (OR = 1.61, 95%CI = 1.47–1.77, p < 0.001). The pooled prevalence of frailty was lower in studies using Frailty Phenotype to define frailty (16.3%) and conducted in Asia (14.3%). Female gender and unmarried status were risk factors of frailty among this population.

Conclusion

Frailty and prefrailty are common in community-dwelling older adults with diabetes. Early screening of frailty and interventions should be integrated into diabetes care for older adults to prevent and reduce the negative effects of frailty at the community level. Better quality longitudinal research is required to examine the temporal relationship between diabetes and frailty.