title: Insulin therapy in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes: the role of insulin glargine.
abstract: Within the USA, between 1980 and 2005, the prevalence of diagnosed diabetes has increased in all age groups, with the age group 65-74 years having the highest prevalence. The treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in elderly people is made more difficult than in their younger counterparts, primarily owing to the impact of co-morbidities, complications and hypoglycaemia as well as technical difficulties with insulin injections. Accordingly, the treatment approach for elderly patients with T2DM may need to be modified to accommodate co-morbidities and illnesses associated with ageing. Risks associated with insulin therapy, particularly hypoglycaemia, have traditionally limited the use of insulin in this patient population. Insulin glargine is associated with a low risk of hypoglycaemia compared with neutral protamine Hagedorn insulin, for example, and could thus provide a treatment of choice for healthcare providers when considering the increasing prevalence of diabetes in the elderly population. A regimen based on insulin glargine plus oral agents provides clinicians with a tool to help meet therapeutic targets in this population without increasing risk of hypoglycaemia.
authors.affiliation: Klinikum Bremen-Nord, Bremen, Germany. hans.janka@klinikum-bremen-nord.de
authors.forename: H U
authors.initials: HU
authors.lastname: Janka
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007003:Hypoglycemia / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000453:epidemiology; D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D007328:Insulin / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000069036:Insulin Glargine; D049528:Insulin, Long-Acting
chemical_list: D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents; D007328:Insulin; D049528:Insulin, Long-Acting; D000069036:Insulin Glargine