The risk of diabetic complications in older elderly diabetic patients

AIM: We examined the risk of the diabetic complications among older elderly diabetic patients. METHODS: We compared the HbA1c levels of 117 type 2 diabetic patients ≥ 75 years old over a 5-year period, before patients received a diagnosis of diabetic complications, with those of diabetic patients without diabetic complications. RESULTS: The HbA1c levels of diabetic retinopathy patients were significantly higher than those of patients without diabetic retinopathy (7.9% vs. 6.8%, p<0.01). Similarly, the HbA1c levels of patients with diabetic nephropathy were significantly higher than those of patients without diabetic nephropathy (7.3% vs. 6.7%, p<0.01). The HbA1c levels of diabetic patients with cerebral infarction or ischemic heart disease were also higher than those in diabetic patients without these vascular complications (7.7% vs. 7.0%, p<0.05). CONCLUSION: The current findings emphasize the importance of careful glycemic control for the prevention of diabetic complications in older elderly patients.