Diabetes treatment and hypoglycaemic episodes in elderly patients at nursing homes in Uppsala County

Aim: The aim of this study was to examine the situation for elderly patients with diabetes living in nursing homes with regard to diabetes treatment, clinical variables, and vascular complications associated with diabetes. A second aim was to evaluate if the patients were at risk of hypoglycaemia. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study including diabetes patients from all 30 nursing homes in Uppsala County, Sweden. Current antidiabetic medications, HbA 1c , hypoglycaemic events, and diabetes complications were registered from the medical records. The patients were stratified into a general group and divided into three groups according to HbA 1c (73 mmol/mol). Results: Of 1,350 individuals, 218 patients were identified with diabetes mellitus. The diabetes duration was 11.2 ± 9.4 years and their serum HbA 1c concentration 56.0 ± 1.2 mmol/mol. Hypoglycaemic events were reported in 24% of the diabetic individuals, and 43.1% of them had HbA 1c