Diabetes Standards of Care and Resources for Clinicians and Educators

For elders with recent onset of diabetes and/or limited complications, significant life expectancies, and good functional abilities, treatment targets will be similar to those for younger patients. However, for frail elders and patients whose bodies are older than their chronological ages due to multiple comorbid conditions, treatment targets should be selected cautiously – to balance the benefits of reasonable control of specific targets with the risks posed by the multiple medications required to achieve these targets. Further, the particular medications selected need to be considered for both their individual effects as well as their interactions with the patient's other medications, disease conditions, and overall quality of life.

As diabetes has been diagnosed in younger AI/AN people over the last few decades, more patients are living with diabetes longer, and consequently developing multiple diabetes complications during what is usually considered middle life. This trend has many implications for these patients – for their physical health as well as their mental health and the ability to function effectively in their many life roles (e.g., as parents, employees, caregivers to elderly parents, community members, etc.).