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Frailty itself has a series of negative consequences, including a future risk of disability,2 institutionalization,3 fracture,4 hospitalization,5 and mortality.4 and 6 Identification of modifiable risk factors for frailty7 Vemurafenib cell line is clearly important in the prevention of the syndrome. One such modifiable predictor of frailty may be diabetes8 and its risk factors. Diabetes risk factors that have recently been shown to be related to an elevated risk of frailty include adiposity,9 low high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol level,10 high blood pressure,11 and cigarette smoking.12 However, this evidence base is modest; studies are typically small in scale and cross-sectional in design, and the influence, if any, of other diabetes risk factors (history of high blood glucose, physical activity, consumption of fruit and vegetables, fasting glucose, and triglycerides) on future frailty is unknown. Additionally, in

the clinical setting, predictive risk algorithms that are in frequent use for the purposes of predicting diabetes and that comprise these risk factors offer value in estimating the likelihood of future disease and therefore provide clinical guidance in prevention and treatment. In the present analyses, we examined the longitudinal association between a comprehensive range of individual diabetes risk factors, validated diabetes risk algorithms (Framingham Offspring,13 Cambridge,14 and Finnish15), and future frailty. If a strong association Rolziracetam between the diabetes risk scores and frailty is confirmed, these Selleckchem AZD2281 scores would present

a convenient way to identify individuals at an increased risk of frailty later in life and in need of early preventive measures. Described in detail elsewhere,16 data were drawn from the Whitehall II study, an ongoing longitudinal study of 10,308 (67% men) London-based British civil servants aged 35 to 55 years at study induction.17 The first screening (phase 1) took place from 1985 to 1988, involving a clinical examination and self-administered questionnaire. Subsequent phases of data collection have alternated between postal questionnaire alone (phases 2 [1988–1990], 4 [1995–1996], 6 [2001], 8 [2006], and 10 [2011]), and postal questionnaire accompanied by a clinical examination approximately every 5 to 6 years (phases 3 [1991–1993], 5 [1997–1999], 7 [2002–2004], and 9 [2007–2009]). We used diabetes risk factors measured at phase 5, the “baseline” for the purposes of our analyses. Frailty was assessed approximately 10 years later, at phase 9, when its components were measured for the first time. Diabetes status was assessed at phases 5, 7, and 9. Prevalent diabetes cases at phase 5 were excluded from the population. Ethical approval for the Whitehall II study was obtained from the University College London Medical School Committee on the ethics of human research (London, UK).