Diabetes in Older Adults

Abstract

More than 25 % of the U.S. popula-tion aged $65 years has diabetes(1), and the aging of the overall population is a significant driver of the diabetes epidemic. Although the burden of diabetes is often described in terms of its impact on working-age adults, diabetes in older adults is linked to highermortality, reduced functional status, and increased risk of institutionalization (2). Older adults with diabetes are at substantial risk for both acute and chronic microvascular and car-diovascular complications of the disease. Despite having thehighest prevalence of diabetes of any age-group, older persons and/or those with multiple comorbidities have often been excluded from randomized