Potential overtreatment of diabetes mellitus in older adults with tight glycemic control.

ABSTRACT:

Importance

In older adults with multiple serious comorbidities and functional limitations, the harms of intensive glycemic control likely exceed the benefits.

Objectives

To examine glycemic control levels among older adults with diabetes mellitus by health status and to estimate the prevalence of potential overtreatment of diabetes.

Design, setting, and participants

Cross-sectional analysis of the data on 1288 older adults (≥65 years) with diabetes from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2001 through 2010 who had a hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) measurement. All analyses incorporated complex survey design to produce nationally representative estimates.

Exposures

Health status categories: very complex/poor, based on difficulty with 2 or m

SUBMITTER: Lipska KJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4426991 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature