# Metformin for Preventing Frailty in High-risk Older Adults.

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HLTH SCIENCE CENTER · 2020 · $98,837

## Abstract

The purpose of this Research Supplement to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research is to understand the
factors that lead to onset of diabetes and frailty and to determine the temporal relationship between frailty and
diabetes incidence in older adults. This research will also support the career development of Tiffany Cortes, MD,
an endocrinologist and clinical investigator working with the PI of the parent trial (Espinoza). For this study, we
will take advantage of the ongoing clinical trial where we are examining older, non-frail prediabetic patients over
two years to test whether increased insulin sensitivity with metformin alters frailty onset. We will also conduct a
larger cohort study in order to examine the incidence of diabetes and frailty in older adults using Veterans
Administration (VA) clinical/administrative data.
Briefly, our specific aims are:
(1) Identify factors that increase the risk of conversion from prediabetes to diabetes, and predictors of diabetes
and frailty in our prospective clinical trial.
(2) Examine factors related to the onset of diabetes and frailty in an older veteran population.
By accomplishing these aims, this study will shed light on risk factors for frailty and diabetes onset in older adults
and the temporal relationship of these. This data will also provide the foundation for a future larger pragmatic
study focused on prevention of frailty in older adults.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10182059
- **Project number:** 3R01AG052697-04S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HLTH SCIENCE CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Sara Elyse Espinoza
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $98,837
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2017-06-01 → 2022-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10182059

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10182059, Metformin for Preventing Frailty in High-risk Older Adults. (3R01AG052697-04S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10182059. Licensed CC0.

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