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The prevalence of Type 2 diabetes and its associated health problems in a community‐dwelling elderly population
Author(s) -
Hewitt J.,
Smeeth L.,
Bulpitt C. J.,
Fletcher A. E.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
diabetic medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.474
H-Index - 145
eISSN - 1464-5491
pISSN - 0742-3071
DOI - 10.1111/j.1464-5491.2009.02687.x
Subject(s) - medicine , diabetes mellitus , type 2 diabetes , odds ratio , population , kidney disease , confidence interval , myocardial infarction , angina , risk factor , gerontology , environmental health , endocrinology
Aims Prevalence estimates of Type 2 diabetes and its associated health problems in elderly populations are rare, especially in the very elderly. Methods A sample of 15 095 community ‐ dwelling older people aged ≥ 75 years were assessed. Type 2 diabetes and associated health problems were identified using self ‐ reporting, general practitioner records, drug histories, and blood and urine measurements. Results There were 1177 people identified as having Type 2 diabetes mellitus, giving an overall prevalence of 7.8% (95% confidence interval 7.1, 8.5), 9.4% (8.4, 10.5) for men and 6.8% (6.1, 7.6) for women. The age, sex and smoking adjusted odds ratios for various health problems, comparing people with and without diabetes were: low vision 1.6 (1.3, 1.9), proteinuria 1.7 (1.4, 2.1), chronic kidney disease stage 4 or 5 1.5 (1.0, 2.1), angina 1.3 (1.1, 1.6), myocardial infarction 1.5 (1.2, 1.8), cerebrovascular event 2.0 (1.8, 2.1) and foot ulceration 1.7 (1.2, 2.4). Conclusions The prevalence of Type 2 diabetes is not high in community ‐ dwelling older people, but diabetes was a contributory factor to a number of health problems.