Older Adults With Type 1 Diabetes Have Lower Grip Strength

WEDNESDAY, June 15, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Diastolic blood pressure and grip strength appear to be consistently lower in aging individuals with type 1 diabetes (T1D), according to a study published online May 26 in the Canadian Journal of Diabetes.

Lauren V. Turner, from York University in Toronto, and colleagues used data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging to assess whether aging individuals with T1D have differences in cardiovascular health than matched nondiabetic controls. Analysis included 63 individuals with T1D and 63 controls (average age at baseline, 59 years) followed for three years.

The researchers found that diastolic blood pressure and grip strength were significantly lower at both time points in the T1D group. In both groups, body mass index, age, and sex were significantly associated with diastolic blood pressure and grip strength. Disease duration accounted for a large proportion of the variance in diastolic blood pressure and grip strength in the T1D group (17 and 9 percent, respectively). There was no difference observed between the groups for rate of decline in diastolic blood pressure and grip strength.

“Aging individuals with T1D may be at risk of premature morbidity and mortality,” the authors write.

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