Aging has increased the prevalence of frailty, and type 2 diabetes (T2D) has also increased in prevalence. Diabetes and oxidative stress (OS) have been shown to be related to frailty. However, the exact mechanism by which it occurs is not fully known. Our aim was to analyze body composition in community-dwelling older diabetic people treated in our center and to evaluate the possible relation between OS, frailty, and body composition. We included 100 adults older than 65 years with T2D. We found that 15% were frail and 57% were prefrail. The patients included in the nonrobust group showed increased levels of OS. Our study shows that the presence of T2D in the geriatric population is associated with a high prevalence of frailty and high OS levels, conditions that cause greater morbidity and mortality and that highlight the importance of the diagnosis of frailty in this population.
Keywords: aging; body composition; diabetes; frailty; oxidative stress.