SAN FRANCISCO — Elderly individuals who have metabolic syndrome are about twice as likely to become frail as those who are healthy, Dr. Joshua I. Barzilay reported in a poster presentation at the Third World Congress on Insulin Resistance Syndrome.
The study involved 2,376 individuals aged 69–74 who were followed prospectively for 7–9 years. At baseline none of the participants were frail, nor did they have other illnesses that increase inflammation markers or mimic frailty, reported Dr. Barzilay, of Emory University, Atlanta, and his colleagues.
At the end of follow-up, 169 participants qualified as frail and another 1,082 qualified as prefrail. The three most commonly seen components of frailty were diminished walking speed, diminished strength, and diminished activity, all of which are consistent with sarcopenia.
Participants who developed frailty or prefrailty had significantly higher fasting insulin levels, higher white blood cell counts, higher C-reactive protein levels, and higher factor VII levels than those who didn't.
Participants were 30%–100% more likely to have metabolic syndrome at baseline, compared with those who did not develop frailty or prefrailty.