Diabetes patients have higher frailty scores, which are tied to risk for incident fragility fractures
THURSDAY, March 28, 2019 (HealthDay News) — Patients with type 2 diabetes are frailer than participants without diabetes, and frailty increases the risk for fragility fractures, according to a study published in the April issue of Diabetes Care.
Guowei Li, from Guangdong Second Provincial General Hospital in Guangzhou, China, and colleagues assessed whether frailty was associated with fracture risk and whether frailty could modify the propensity of type 2 diabetes toward an increased risk for fractures among a prospective cohort of 3,149 participants (70 percent women), 138 of whom had diabetes (60 percent women).
The researchers found higher bone mineral density and Frailty Index (FI) scores in participants with diabetes versus controls. There was a significant relationship between FI score and the risk for incident fragility fractures (hazard ratios, 1.02 and 1.19 per-0.01 and per-0.10 FI increase, respectively). There was no evidence of interaction between frailty and diabetes for risk for hip and clinical spine fractures.
“Frailty increases the risk of fragility fracture and enhances the effect of diabetes on fragility fractures. Particular attention should be paid to diabetes as a risk factor for fragility fractures in those who are frail,” the authors write.
Several authors disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry, which provided funding for the study.
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