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World J Diabetes. Apr 15, 2025; 16(4): 103002
Published online Apr 15, 2025. doi: 10.4239/wjd.v16.i4.103002
Digital health technologies/interventions in smart ward development for elderly patients with diabetes: A perspective from China and beyond
Wei Yang, Juan Lu, Si-Cong Si, Wei-Hua Wang, Jing Li, Yi-Xin Ma, Huan Zhao, Jia Liu
Wei Yang, Si-Cong Si, Wei-Hua Wang, Jing Li, Yi-Xin Ma, Huan Zhao, Jia Liu, Department of Geriatrics, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100053, China
Juan Lu, Department of General Practice, The Longzeyuan Community Health Service Center, Beijing 102208, China
Co-first authors: Wei Yang and Juan Lu.
Author contributions: Yang W and Lu J contributed equally; Yang W contributed to conceptualization, funding acquisition, writing - original draft; Lu J, Si SC, Wang WH, Li J, Ma YX, Zhao H and Liu J contributed to writing - review & editing; Lu J contributed to resources, software, analysis; Si SC contributed to data curation, formal analysis; Wang WH and Li J contributed to investigation, visualization; Ma YX and Zhao H contributed to resources, software; All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Supported by Post-Subsidy Funds from the National Clinical Research Center, Ministry of Science and Technology of China, No. 303-01-001-0272-08; Beijing Municipal Administration of Hospitals Incubating Program, No. PX2022032; and Beijing Municipal Public Welfare Development and Reform Pilot Project for Medical Research Institutes (PWD&RPP-MRI), No. JYY2023-13.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
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: Wei Yang, MD, Associate Professor, Department of Geriatrics, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 45 Changchun Street, Xicheng District, Beijing 100053, China. yangw_79@163.com
Received: November 5, 2024
Revised: January 22, 2025
Accepted: February 17, 2025
Published online: April 15, 2025
Processing time: 116 Days and 1.2 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: Diabetes affects nearly a quarter of individuals aged 65 years and older worldwide, with China reporting the highest number of cases. The unique features of elderly diabetes patients underscore the need for improved management. Digital health technologies have facilitated the establishment of smart hospital wards for diabetes patients. However, there is limited research and review focusing on smart wards tailored for older diabetes patients. This review discusses the development of smart wards, addressing the issues specific to managing elderly diabetic patients, and suggests future research directions to enhance the care of elderly diabetes patients.