Frailty – An emerging high impact complication of diabetes requiring specific management approaches

Excerpt

Ever since the Frailty model for diabetes was first described (1) a different management approach to older adults with diabetes who develop frailty has been suggested. The European Diabetes Working Party for Older People (EDWPOP) identified frailty as a key priority area for action (2) and published a glucose-lowering algorithm for frail patients with type 2 diabetes. More recently, the international Diabetes Federation (IDF) launched global guidance on the management of diabetes in older adults and made specific recommendations on treatment in those adults who are dependent and frail who depend on others for their diabetes care (3). Other organisations recognise the impact of multimorbidity and frailty in the overall management of older citizens with diabetes (4-6). We are pleased to announce that more considered guidance to this complex area of diabetes management is in development and in mid-2017, an international collaboration consisting of EDWPOP, IAGG-Garn, AMDA, ICFRSR, and an International Group of Experts, will publish a Position Statement in this area* (see list of collaborators at end of article). …