title: Comparison of Age of Onset and Frequency of Diabetic Complications in the Very Elderly Patients with Type 2 Diabetes.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The prevalence of type 2 diabetes in elderly people has increased dramatically in the last few decades. This study was designed to clarify the clinical characteristics of type 2 diabetes in patients aged ≥80 years according to age of onset.
  
  
  METHODS
  We reviewed the medical records of 289 patients aged ≥80 years with type 2 diabetes at the outpatient diabetes clinics of Kangwon National University Hospital from September 2010 to June 2014. We divided the patients into middle-age-onset diabetes (onset before 65 years of age) and elderly-onset diabetes (onset at 65+ years of age).
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 141 male and 148 female patients. The patients had a mean age of 83.2±2.9 years and the mean duration of diabetes was 14.3±10.4 years. One hundred and ninety-nine patients had elderly-onset diabetes. The patients with elderly-onset diabetes had a significantly lower frequency of diabetic retinopathy and nephropathy, lower serum creatinine levels, lower glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels, and similar coronary revascularization and cerebral infarction rates compared to those with middle-age-onset diabetes. There was no frequency difference in coronary revascularization and cerebral infarction and HbA1c levels between three subgroups (<5, 5 to 15, and ≥15 years) of diabetes duration in elderly onset diabetes. However, both in the elderly onset diabetes and middle-age-onset diabetes, the cumulative incidence of retinopathy was increasing rapidly according to the duration of diabetes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We report that individuals with elderly-onset diabetes have a lower frequency of diabetic retinopathy and nephropathy and similar cardiovascular complications compared to those with middle-age-onset diabetes.
authors: Department of Internal Medicine, Kangwon National University School of Medicine, Chuncheon, Korea.
authors: Bong Ki
authors: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4289-2284
authors: BK
authors: Lee
authors: Department of Internal Medicine, Kangwon National University School of Medicine, Chuncheon, Korea.
authors: Sang Wook
authors: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7445-3860
authors: SW
authors: Kim
authors: Department of Internal Medicine, Kangwon National University School of Medicine, Chuncheon, Korea.
authors: Daehee
authors: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8956-7518
authors: D
authors: Choi
authors: Department of Internal Medicine, Kangwon National University School of Medicine, Chuncheon, Korea. ehcho@kangwon.ac.kr.
authors: Eun Hee
authors: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1349-8894
authors: EH
authors: Cho
keywords: Complication; Diabetes; Elderly