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Protein intake is not associated with functional biomarkers of physical frailty: a cross-sectional analysis of community-dwelling older adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Protein intake is not associated with functional biomarkers of physical frailty: a cross-sectional analysis of community-dwelling older adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Anthony Villani, Michelle Barrett, Rebecca McClure and Hattie Wright
Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases, Vol.31(3), pp.827-833
2021
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.numecd.2020.11.018
PMID: 33549458
url
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.numecd.2020.11.018View
Published Version

Abstract

protein frailty type 2 diabetes physical performance older adults
Background and aim: Frailty has emerged as a third category of complication in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). It has been suggested that adequate protein intake is an important dietary strategy for counteracting frailty. Therefore, we explored the association between protein intake and functional biomarkers of frailty in older adults with T2DM. Methods and results: Frailty was operationalized as the presence of three of the following: exhaustion, low muscle strength, low physical activity, slow gait speed, and weight loss. Functional biomarkers included handgrip strength (HGS), chair stands, the short physical performance battery and gait speed. Eighty-seven older adults (71.2 ± 8.2 years; 66.7% males) were included. A total of n = 6 (~7%) and n = 32 (~37%) participants were identified as frail and pre-frail respectively. No significant difference was observed for protein intake across staging of frailty (pre-frail/frail: 1.3 ± 0.4 g/kg BW; non-frail: 1.4 ± 0.4 g/kg BW; P = 0.320). A significant association was observed for total protein intake and HGS (β = 0.44; 95% CI: 0.23–1.8; P = 0.01). However, this was no longer significant after adjusting for age, gender, physical activity, energy intake and total appendicular lean muscle (β = 0.03; 95% CI: −0.45–0.60; P = 0.78). Nil other associations were observed between total protein intake and functional biomarkers of frailty. Conclusion: Adequate protein intake was not associated with functional biomarkers in older adults with T2DM. Future research should focus on the efficacy of protein on attenuating functional decline in vulnerable older adults with low protein intake.

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Web Of Science research areas
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Nutrition & Dietetics

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#2 Zero Hunger
#3 Good Health and Well-Being
#5 Gender Equality

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