One-Leg Standing Test as a Practical Indicator of Frailty in Older Male Outpatients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Frailty is common among older adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). However, simple, objective, equipment-free screening tools for early frailty detection are limited. We evaluated the association between the objective one-leg standing test (OLST) and frailty in older male outpatients with T2DM and defined a clinically relevant OLST cut-off for frailty screening. Males aged ≥65 years with T2DM (n = 335) were included in this single-center, retrospective, cross-sectional study. Frailty was pre-categorized based on a Kihon Checklist (KCL) score ≥ 8. The association of OLST time with frailty was assessed by logistic regression. The Youden Index was used to determine the optimal OLST time cut-off. Frailty was observed in 17.3% of the participants. The KCL-frail group exhibited a shorter OLST time than the KCL-non-frail group (median: 12.1 [7.4–30.6] vs. 45.8 [23.2–60.0] s; p < 0.001). Shorter OLST time was independently associated with frailty (odds ratio 0.955 per 1 s increase; 95% confidence interval 0.939–0.971; p < 0.001). The optimal cut-off for identifying frailty was 34.1 s (area under the curve: 0.768). The OLST is an objective, equipment-free physical performance test that may complement subjective frailty screening to identify frailty in an ambulant male population aged ≥65 years with T2DM.