IDF21-0545 Assessment of the Relationship between Hypoglycemia and Frailty in Elderly People with Diabetes

Abstract

Background: Diabetes may cause a decrease in both physiological and cognitive reserves when featured with the state of frailty in elderly individuals. Hypoglycemia is both an indicator and trigger of frailty. Hypoglycemia management in frail elderly requires different strategies than standard approaches, however, the literature is quite limited on this subject. Aim: This descriptive, exploratary study examined the relationship between frailty and hypoglycemia in individuals aged 65 years and above. Method: The study comprised 196 patients with diabetes. Data were collected through the patient information form, the Hypoglycemia Fear Scale (HFS), and the Edmonton Frailty Scale (EFS). Data were analyzed in SPSS 26 by using percentages, means, standard deviations, t-test, one-way analysis of variance (with Tukey HSD post hoc test), Pearson correlation analysis, and regression analysis. The significance level was accepted as p<0.05. Results: It was found that 69.9% of the subjects were female, that 82.1% were at the 65–74 age range, that blood sugar levels of 76.5% dropped below 70 mg/dl at least once after diagnosis (hypoglycemia), and that 17.8% were severely frail. The EFS mean result was higher in individuals who had hypoglycemia (7.86 ± 3.02) than those who did not have hypoglycemia (6.26 ± 3.12); hypoglycemia insensitivity (8.22 ± 3.31) was found to be significantly higher than those who did not have hypoglycemia (6.26 ± 3.12) (p=0.02 and p = 0.007). A positive correlation was found between both HFS total score and HFS behavior and anxiety sub-dimensions and EFS score (r =.32, p <.001; r =.27, p = .001; r = .30, respectively). p < .001) Linear regression analysis showed that hypoglycemia fear level of individuals explained frailty score by 10%. (R2 Linear: 0.104, p < 0.001). As a result, when the hypoglycemia fear scores of individuals with diabetes increase, the frailty scores increase. Fear of hypoglycemia explains 10% of the frailty. Discussion: These results indicate the importance of preventing hypoglycemia in the prevention of fragility in elderly people with diabetes, thereby highlighting the importance of approaches to reduce the risk of hypoglycemia in elderly people with diabetes.