Comparison Of Elderly Diabetes And Mature Age Diabetes - Similarities And Differences

Diabetes occurs in the elderly more frequently than in other ages. Although it is not regarded as a particular variety of the disease, diabetes in the elderly may have peculiar etiopathogenetic and/or clinical features. In the present study we compared two groups of non-insulin-dependent diabetic subjects, one including 89 patients with onset of the disease after the age of 65 year (elderly diabetes: ED), and the other including 89 patients with onset of the disease between 40 and 55 year (mature age diabetes: MD). The two groups were identical for sex and duration of the disease. ED and MD did not consistently differ in anthropometric and metabolic parameters. However, plasma HDL-cholesterol was lower, and fasting plasma C-peptide was higher in ED. These subjects had a less frequent family history of diabetes, but a more frequent consumption of potentially diabetogenic medications. Our results suggest that ED and MD have no substantially different clinical features. Nevertheless, in the pathogenesis of elderly diabetes inherited factors seem to have an impact lower than acquired factors, such as the consumption of diabetogenic drugs.