Determinants of Frailty among Patients with Type 2 Diabetes In Urban Hospital

Objectives: Frailty and diabetes are on the rise due to the aging population. This study was conducted to examine frailty conditions among patients with Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) in Hanoi, Vietnam, as well as determine its associated factors. Methods: A cross-sectional study on T2DM patients at an urban hospital. This study assessed the frailty status using the FRAIL questionnaire. Socio-demographic, clinical, and paraclinical characteristics were obtained. Multivariate regression models were performed to detect factors associated with frailty. Results: Of 379 patients, the FRAIL scale results showed that 8/379 patients were at the frailty level (2.1%), and 33/379 patients were at the pre-frailty level (8.7%). Patients who had above high school education and were retired were at lower risk of pre-frailty/frailty than those with high school education or below, and self-employed, respectively. Conversely, patients with a higher number of comorbidities were more likely to develop pre-frailty and frailty. Conclusion: This study showed a low prevalence of pre-frailty and frailty among T2DM patients. It is necessary to manage diabetes carefully and strictly control the comorbidities in this population. Interventions should focus on higher risk populations, such as those with low education levels and self-employment.