Vnitr Lek 2016, 62(3):218-222

Management of type 2 diabetes mellitus therapy in a mature age

Jiří Hradec^1,*, Eva Račická²

¹ IDE CR, s. r. o., Chrudim

² Diabetologická a interní ambulance, Ostrava

Type 2 diabetes mellitus represents a serious medical, social and economic problem, since it has become a pandemic in recent years, affecting up to 1/3 of the Czech population in old age. It is the clinically most significant metabolic disease in older age. A pharmacotherapeutic approach needs to be adjusted to the presence of multiple comorbidities in the elderly and to the patient's ability to cooperate with treatment, and owing to the feared hypoglycemia which may contribute to increased morbidity, it detracts from the quality of life and limits the possibilities of treatment in many cases. When taking decisions about the treatment, the recommendations categorizing diabetic patients from the geriatric perspective as fit or fragile should be taken into account. The target values of diabetes compensation are derived from them. The purpose of the paper is to describe the possibilities of safe therapy for type 2 diabetes mellitus in older patients and draw attention to the risks that some types of treatment may present for older people.

Keywords: diabetes mellitus; gliflozins; gliptins; insulin treatment; frailty; diabetes treatment; older patients; sulfonylurea

Received: March 9, 2016; Accepted: March 18, 2016; Published: March 1, 2016  Show citation