Quality of Life and Its Association with Frailty in Older Adults with Diabetes Mellitus Registered with UMF No. 7 Zacatelco, Tlaxcala

Diabetes mellitus is defined by the ADA as a metabolic disease due to hyperglycemia. In Mexico, frailty syndrome can be identified by weight loss in the last three years, inability to rise from a chair five consecutive times without using the arms, and perceived energy. Quality of life is understood as a person's perception of their own situation in life. The objective was to determine the association between frailty and quality of life in older adults with diabetes mellitus. A nonexperimental, descriptive observational, cross-sectional, prospective study using nonprobability convenience sampling was conducted from November 2024 to June 2025 at UMF 7 Zacatelco, Tlaxcala. The sample consisted of 278 older adults diagnosed with diabetes mellitus more than 5 years previously; quality of life was assessed using the SF-36 scale and frailty syndrome using the ENSRUD scale. Descriptive and inferential statistics were applied. A total of 278 patients were analyzed; most were women (60.8%), married (85.3%), homemakers (54.7%), and had primary education (54.7%); 67.3% had diabetes mellitus with a disease duration of more than 5 years. However, 73% had frailty syndrome. Poor quality of life was reported by 71%. When relating quality of life to frailty syndrome, there was a statistical difference, Pearson's chi-square p.003, but with a weak association (Cramer's V .170); the statistical difference between frailty syndrome and sex was p.002, and the distribution of quality of life by sex showed a p.197. It is concluded that there is a relationship between quality of life and frailty syndrome; the proportion of frailty syndrome by sex was higher in women, and the distribution of quality of life is higher in women, who present with poor quality of life.