Relaxing Treatment Goals in Older Patients with Diabetes

For healthy older people (i.e., age, ≥65) with diabetes, the American Diabetes Association lists “reasonable” glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA_1c) goals as <7.0% to 7.5% for relatively healthy patients, and <8.0% for “complex” patients with multiple chronic illnesses. For “very complex/poor health” patients with limited life expectancy, no specific HbA_1c target is recommended; rather, the goal is to avoid symptomatic hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia (Diabetes Care 2023; 46 [Suppl 1]:S216). In this study, researchers surveyed 445 U.S. clinicians (generalists, geriatricians, and endocrinologists) to examine their practice preferences for older patients.

The survey included three scenarios of patients in their late 70s with diabetes — a healthy woman …