Older adults and type 2 diabetes

Hypertension has the largest impact on mortality risk in younger people with type 2 diabetes, whereas chronic kidney disease is a greater threat for older people, shows a population-based study.

People with type 2 diabetes who maintain low glycated haemoglobin levels have slower progression of frailty over time than those with higher levels, shows an analysis of Look AHEAD participants.

Deintensifying diabetes treatment does not increase the risk for short-term adverse outcomes in male nursing home residents with limited life expectancy or advanced dementia, say researchers.

A post-hoc analysis of the DAPA-HF trial indicates that dapagliflozin is beneficial in people with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction regardless of frailty, but with the largest gains in the frailest individuals.

Less than a third of nursing home residents who meet the criteria for overtreatment of type 2 diabetes have their treatment deintensified, suggests an analysis of Veterans Affairs data.

Intensification of diabetes medications in older adults at the point of discharge from hospital is associated with an increased risk for hypoglycemia, without gains in glycemic control, research suggests.

Among older people with type 2 diabetes, use of SGLT2 inhibitors is associated with improved glycemic control and a favorable safety profile, suggests research reported at the virtual 57th EASD Annual Meeting.

Analysis of older people living in Denmark shows that doctors are increasingly deprescribing medications given solely to reduce blood glucose as people with type 2 diabetes near their end of life.

Researchers find diminished cardiovascular gains and an increased risk for severe hypoglycemia in frail people with type 2 diabetes given intensive glycemic and blood pressure treatment.

Older people with type 2 diabetes are more likely to receive inappropriately intensive glucose-lowering treatment if they live in high- versus middle income countries, show data from the global DISCOVER study.

Older people with type 2 diabetes who initiate treatment with long-acting insulin analogs have a lower risk for severe hypoglycemia than those using neutral protamine Hagedorn insulin, real-world study findings suggest.

Analysis of older participants in the BRIGHT trial suggests that this subgroup may do slightly better with insulin glargine-300 than with degludec.

Older individuals with type 2 diabetes have a high risk for frailty, and risk predictors include poor glycemic control, depressive symptoms, and lifestyle factors, suggest findings from a Chinese cross-sectional study.

Older individuals with type 2 diabetes and low glycated hemoglobin receiving treatment with a sulfonylurea or insulin have an increased risk for severe hypoglycemia, but there is no clear indication of an increased mortality risk, suggest UK study results.

Adults who develop prediabetes when older than 70 years are more likely to regress to normoglycemia or die of other causes than to progress to type 2 diabetes, research shows.

Researchers find that older adults with diabetes are frequently treated to an intensive glycemic target, putting them at risk for poor outcomes, particularly when high-risk agents are used.

SGLT2 inhibitors are associated with lower rates of heart failure hospitalization, all-cause mortality, and hypoglycemia, but higher rates of diabetic ketoacidosis, when compared with DPP-4 inhibitors in older adults with type 2 diabetes, suggests a Canadian study.

Cardiovascular event rates do not differ significantly among people with type 2 diabetes treated with linagliptin or glimepiride regardless of age, but those who receive linagliptin have lower risks for falls and hypoglycemia, CAROLINA trial data show.

Results from an observational study suggest that the use of metformin in older patients with type 2 diabetes is associated with a reduced decline in both global cognition and executive function, and a decreased risk for dementia.

Severe hypoglycemia in people with type 2 diabetes is associated with later mortality from a wide range of causes, including those for which there is no obvious underlying mechanism, say researchers.