[Prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus in elderly patients and associated factors in a general hospital of the north of Mexico]. / Prevalencia de diabetes mellitus de tipo 2 y factores asociados en la población geriátrica de un hospital general del norte de México.

UNLABELLED: There are few reports on the impact of diabetes in the geriatric population. OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of diabetes in the geriatric population in a hospital in Northeast Mexico. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study and a probabilistic sampling were made. The files of outpatients of the geriatrics department in a General Hospital in Monterrey, Mexico,were examined. The information obtained from these files was related to the patient's personal pathological and non-pathological background, besides a full geriatric evaluation. RESULTS: A total of 171 files were examined, out of which 97 (56.7%) belonged to females and 74 (43.3%) to males. The mean age was 78 ± 6.9 years. Diabetes was found in 76 patients (44%), major depression was found in 85 patients (50%), with the latter being more common in diabetic patients (p = 0.002). It was also found that diabetic patients take more drugs during their disease. Adjusting for age, gender, and academic level, cognitive impairment was found in 110 patients (64.3%). CONCLUSIONS: Diabetes mellitus is more frequent in the geriatric population and it uses more resources.