Abstract / Summary
Abstract Background Frailty and poor sleep are common in older adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus, but their joint patterns may be obscured by total-score approaches. This study aimed to identify latent frailty–sleep profiles and examine factors associated with profile membership. Methods A convenience sample of 380 older adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus was recruited from the Department of Endocrinology and Geriatrics of a tertiary grade-A general hospital in Guangzhou, China, from June 2025 to June 2026. Participants completed a general information questionnaire, the Tilburg Frailty Indicator (TFI), and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Latent profile analysis was conducted using the three TFI dimensions and seven PSQI components as continuous indicators. Univariate analyses and multinomial logistic regression were used to examine factors associated with profile membership. Results Three latent frailty–sleep groups were identified: a relatively healthy group ( n = 191, 50.26%), a sleep-disorder predominant group ( n = 144, 37.89%), and a hypnotic-use and sleep-onset difficulty group ( n = 45, 11.85%). Multinomial logistic regression showed that gender and regular exercise were associated with both higher-risk profiles. A history of falls was associated only with the sleep-disorder predominant group, whereas smoking history and polypharmacy were associated only with the hypnotic-use and sleep-onset difficulty group (all P < 0.05 ). Conclusions Frailty and sleep quality among older adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus showed clear heterogeneity. These findings support profile-specific screening and stratified interventions, with attention to sleep management, exercise promotion, fall prevention, smoking cessation, and medication review according to the dominant characteristics of each subgroup.