ABSTRACT
The aim of this study was to evaluate the control of blood glucose and glycosylated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) and its influencing factors, in elderly type 2 diabetic mellitus (T2DM) patients undergoing comprehensive management. After years of comprehensive prevention of and control measures for diabetes, elderly T2DM patients who were receiving long-term health care were comprehensively evaluated through an annual physical examination. In addition to routine health examination, the patients were required to undergo HbA1c measurement. Among 688 patients, 652 were men and 36 were women, with a mean age of 78.2 ± 9.1 years. The average HbA1c was 6.6 ± 0.9%. A total of 50.6% of the patients had HbA1c <6.5%, whereas 76.3% had HbA1c <7.0%. Among all patients, 77.1, 46.4, 66.1, 67.8, 36.3, and 57.4% achieved the target total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), triglyceride (TG), blood pressure, and body mass index (BMI) levels, respectively. The duration of disease and type of treatment, as well as the LDL, HDL, TG, BMI, and blood pressure levels, were significantly associated with HbA1c control. No patient was admitted because of ketoacidosis or hyperosmolar nonketotic diabetic coma in 10 years. Approximately half of the T2DM patients achieved the target HbA1c level. The more effective blood glucose control observed in our study compared with previous studies can be attributed to the effective monitoring of medical conditions and comprehensive management of patients.