Diabetes: Cardiovascular Events and Geriatric Scale Scores

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Jean-Pierre Le Floch, MD
Diabetology-Endocrinology
Villecresnes Medical Hospital
94440 Villecresnes

MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of this study?

Answer: The main finding of the study is the association between classical macrovascular complications of diabetes and impaired scores of five geriatric scale scores exploring cognition, activities of daily life, instrumental activities, mood and nutrition.

MedicalResearch.com: Where any of the findings unexpected:

Answer: These findings were not totally unexpected, but had not commonly been studied in elderly diabetic patients. Using multivariate analyses (logistic model), with factors commonly associated with cardiovascular complications, such as age, BMI, lipids and HbA1c levels, some of these associations remains significant, notably with cognitive impairment and reduced activities of daily living.

MedicalResearch.com: What should patients and clinicians take from this report?

Answer: The main impact for clinical practice deals with the potential benefits of a thorough screening and management of geriatric function in elderly (70 years old and above) type 2 diabetic patients.

MedicalResearch.com: What further research do you recommend as a result of this report?

Answer: Of course, our results should be confirmed by other studies. In addition, this analysis concerns the transversal results at baseline of the GERODIAB study.  Therefore, it should be confirmed by follow-up results. These would be done in GERODIAB, which is a French five-years follow-up study.

Citation:

Cardiovascular events and Geriatric Scale Scores in Elderly (70 years-old and above) Type 2 Diabetic Patients at Inclusion in the Gerodiab Cohort.

Bauduceau B, Doucet J, Le Floch JP, Verny C; the SFD / SFGG Intergroup.
Endocrinology, Begin Hospital, 69 avenue de Paris, 94160 Saint Mandé.
Diabetes Care. 2013 Aug 29. [Epub ahead of print]

 

Last Updated on February 25, 2014 by Marie Benz MD FAAD