The Relationship Between Diabetes Burden and Frailty in Older Adults with Diabetes

Aim: To determine the relationship between diabetes burden and frailty in older diabetic patients. Material and Methods: This descriptive and correlational study examined 208 diabetic patients aged 65 years and older who were admitted to internal medicine or surgical outpatient clinics, or hospitalized in a state or university hospital between December 2018 and May 2019. Data were collected using the "Patient Information Form," the "Elderly Diabetes Burden Scale" and the "Edmonton Frail Scale." The data were analyzed using percentages, means, the Mann-Whitney U test, the Kruskal-Wallis test, and the Spearman correlation test. Results: The mean age of the participants was 70 ± 4.59 years (minimum: 65, maximum: 86). The mean Edmonton Frail Scale score was 6.46 ± 3.99, and 48.1% of patients were frail to varying degrees. The mean total score on the Elderly Diabetes Burden Scale was 51.97 ± 13.7. There were significant differences in the type of diabetes treatment, the development of complications, presence of additional chronic diseases, and diabetes burden (p < 0.05). A significant difference was found between age, education level, marital status, number of cohabitants, duration of diabetes, development of diabetes complications, the presence of additional chronic diseases, and frailty (p < 0.05). The study found a significant moderate positive correlation between frailty and the diabetes burden. Conclusions: The study concluded that approximately half of individuals with diabetes were frail and experienced a moderate level of diabetes burden, which increased with greater frailty. Implication for nursing practice: Nurses should regularly assess both the frailty levels and the diabetes burden of older people with diabetes, and support their self-management skills to alleviate these challenges.