Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics Seminar
Wednesday, January 28, 2026
2:30 PM-3:30 PM
Felicia Simpson, PhD, chair & associate professor in the Department of Mathematics at Winston-Salem State University, will present
"Impact of Multidomain Lifestyle Intervention on Frailty Through the
Lens of Deficit Accumulation in Adults with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus."
Type 2 diabetes and obesity increase accumulation of health deficits over
time and may accelerate biological aging. It is unknown whether multidomain
lifestyle interventions can mitigate against this.
Within a large, randomized controlled clinical trial of intensive lifestyle
intervention (ILI) including caloric restriction, increased physical activity,
dietary counseling, and risk factor monitoring compared with diabetes support
and education (DSE) we examined the trajectory of frailty across 8 years. We
used two complementary frailty index (FI) definitions, one modeled on work in
the Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial; the other including additional
deficits related to aging with obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus.
Differences between intervention groups and the consistency of these across
clinical subgroups were assessed with re-randomization tests.
Data from 4859 adults (45-76 years at baseline, 59% female) were analyzed.
Random assignment to ILI was associated with lower FI scores throughout 8 years
of follow-up (p<0.001), over which time mean differences between
intervention groups averaged 5.8% and 5.4% for the two indices. At year 8, the
percentages of participants categorized as frail (FI>0.21) were lower among
ILI (39.8% and 54.5%) compared with DSE (42.7% and 60.9%) for the two indices
(both p<0.001). Intervention benefits were relatively greater for
individuals who were older, not obese, and without history of cardiovascular
disease at baseline.
Eight years of multidomain lifestyle intervention slows the accumulation of
health deficits over time in overweight or obese adults with type 2 diabetes.
Felicia R. Simpson, PhD, is an associate professor of statistics and
chair of the Department of Mathematics at Winston-Salem State University. Simpson received her BA in Mathematics from Albany State University and her
PhD in Biostatistics from Florida State University. Prior to joining
Winston-Salem State University, Simpson worked as a Mathematical
Statistician at the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research at FDA, Division of
Biometrics IV. Her research interests include design and analysis of clinical
trials, and metrics of aging, with a current focus on interfaces among aging,
diabetes, and lifestyle. Simpson is an active member of the American
Statistical Association (ASA) and International Biometric Society. She has
served on ENAR’s regional committee. She is passionate about increasing the
exposure of statistics and biostatistics among students in underrepresented
populations.
Simpson is a member of ASA’s Committee on Minorities in
Statistics and served as co-chair for the ENAR Fostering Diversity in
Biostatistics Workshop. Simpson was the recipient of the American
Statistical Association’s 2023 Annie T. Randall Innovator Award established to
recognize statistical innovators with a tenacious, resolute commitment to
excellence, and dedication to building a diverse profession through leadership
and service. In addition, Simpson is the 2025 inaugural recipient of the
Eastern North American Region International Biometric Society (ENAR) Dionne
Price Early Career PIONEER Award in Biostatistics. She received this award in
recognition of her expectational innovation in mentoring, dedicated service to
the biostatistics community, and significant impact in the field. In 2025, Simpson was honored by Winston-Salem State University as one of its endowed
professors, recognizing her exceptional accomplishments as a scholar and
academic leader. She was named the Vivian Chambers Distinguished Professor in
Mathematics.
Contact Nancy Colon Anderson for Zoom information at nanderson@drexel.edu.
Contact Information
Nancy Colon-Anderson
nanderson@drexel.edu