Diabetes Microvascular Complications Are Associated with a Reduction in Gait Speed in High-Functioning Older Adults for Outpatient Clinics

Although the association of type 2 diabetes (T2D) with an increased risk of poor physical function and frailty in older adults is widely documented, the underlying pathophysiological pathways linking these two entities are not fully understood. Accordingly, we conducted a cross-sectional observational study aiming to investigate the association of T2D and its microvascular complications retinopathy, nephropathy, and neuropathy, with gait speed (GS), a common surrogate marker of functional decline, adjusting for age, sex, and cognitive function, in the cohort of older adults of the DIALCAT project (Catalonia, Spain). From the initial 335 participants, 84 were excluded because of missing or incorrect GS assessment. The remaining 251 individuals showed a mean (SD) age of 76.5 (5.8) years, of which 50.4