Retrospective Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Diabetes. Apr 15, 2024; 15(4): 638-644
Published online Apr 15, 2024. doi: 10.4239/wjd.v15.i4.638
Prevalence and risk factors of diabetes mellitus among elderly patients in the Lugu community
Li-Zhen Zhao, Wei-Min Li, Ying Ma
Li-Zhen Zhao, Wei-Min Li, Ying Ma, Lugu Community Health Service Center, West Campus Beijing Chao-yang Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University, Beijing 100043, China
Author contributions: Zhao LZ designed the research and wrote the first manuscript; Zhao LZ and Li WM contributed to conceiving the research and analyzing data; Zhao LZ and Ma Y conducted the analysis and provided guidance for the research; and all authors reviewed and approved the final manuscript.
Supported by the Capital’s Funds for Health Improvement and Research, No. 2023-3S-002.
Institutional review board statement: This study was reviewed and approved by the Ethic Committee of West Campus Beijing Chao-yang Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University (approval No. 2023-Section-149).
Informed consent statement: Patients were not required to give informed consent to the study because it is a retrospective study and the data came from electronic medical records in the hospital.
Conflict-of-interest statement: There is no conflict of interest.
Data sharing statement: All data and materials are available from the corresponding author.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Li-Zhen Zhao, MM, Doctor, Lugu Community Health Service Center, West Campus Beijing Chao-yang Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University, No. 2 Liuheyuan, Lugu Community, Shijingshan District, Beijing 100043, China. zlz09302022@126.com
Received: December 19, 2023
Peer-review started: December 19, 2023
First decision: January 9, 2024
Revised: January 29, 2024
Accepted: February 27, 2024
Article in press: February 27, 2024
Published online: April 15, 2024
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Age is a significant risk factor of diabetes mellitus (DM). With the develop of population aging, the incidence of DM remains increasing. Understanding the epidemiology of DM among elderly individuals in a certain area contributes to the DM interventions for the local elderly individuals with high risk of DM.

AIM

To explore the prevalence of DM among elderly individuals in the Lugu community and analyze the related risk factors to provide a valid scientific basis for the health management of elderly individuals.

METHODS

A total of 4816 elderly people who came to the community for physical examination were retrospectively analyzed. The prevalence of DM among the elderly was calculated. The individuals were divided into a DM group and a non-DM group according to the diagnosis of DM to compare the differences in diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and systolic blood pressure (SBP), fasting blood glucose, body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and incidence of hypertension (HT), coronary heart disease (CHD), and chronic kidney disease (CKD).

RESULTS

DM was diagnosed in 32.70% of the 4816 elderly people. The BMI of the DM group (25.16 ± 3.35) was greater than that of the non-DM group (24.61 ± 3.78). The WHR was 0.90 ± 0.04 in the non-DM group and 0.90 ± 0.03 in the DM group, with no significant difference. The left SBP and SBP in the DM group were 137.9 mmHg ± 11.92 mmHg and 69.95 mmHg ± 7.75 mmHg, respectively, while they were 126.6 mmHg ± 12.44 mmHg and 71.15 mmHg ± 12.55 mmHg, respectively, in the non-DM group. These findings indicate higher SBP and lower DBP in DM patients than in those without DM. In the DM group, 1274 patients were diagnosed with HT, accounting for 80.89%. Among the 3241 non-DM patients, 1743 (53.78%) were hypertensive and 1498 (46.22%) were nonhypertensive. The DM group had more cases of HT than did the non-DM group. There were more patients with CHD or CKD in the DM group than in the non-DM group. There were more patients who drank alcohol more frequently (≥ 3 times) in the DM group than in the non-DM group.

CONCLUSION

Older adults in the Lugu community are at a greater risk of DM. In elderly individuals, DM is closely related to high BMI and HT, CHD, and CKD. Physical examinations should be actively carried out for elderly people to determine their BMI, SBP, DBP, and other signs, and sufficient attention should be given to abnormalities in the above signs before further diagnosis.

Keywords: Diabetes mellitus, Type 2 diabetes mellitus, Elderly, Risk factors

Core Tip: Age is a significant risk factor of diabetes mellitus (DM). An investigation focusing on the prevalence and risk factors of DM among elderly individuals is necessary. A total of 4816 elderly people who came to the community for physical examination were retrospectively analyzed in this study. older adults in the Lugu community are at high risk of DM, a disease highly correlated with high body mass index (BMI) and hypertension, coronary heart disease and chronic kidney disease in the elderly population. Therefore, physical examinations should be actively carried out for elderly individuals in the Lugu community to determine their demographic indices, such as BMI, systolic pressure, and diastolic pressure. Moreover, adequate attention should be given to those with abnormal signs, and blood glucose levels should be further determined.