Review: Physical disability and the cumulative impact of diabetes in older adults

Abstract

he already high and increasing prevalence of diabetes among older adults will make ageing-related outcomes like physical disability an increasingly important complication of diabetes. Disability is a key indicator of both overall morbidity and the success of public health efforts to compress the period of morbidity in old age for the overall population. Many cross-sectional and longitudinal studies have now associated diabetes with increased risk of disabilities in mobility and in instrumental and basic activities of living. The explanation for higher disability among persons with diabetes appears to be multifactorial with neuropathy, peripheral arterial disease, coronary heart disease, depression, obesity, visual impairment, and physical inactivity the most prominent factors. These factors are common in persons with diabetes and exert strong effects on risk of disability. Several promising interventions exist, ranging from exercise programmes and identification and treatment of depression, to long-term prevention of disability through better management of glycaemia and risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Preliminary findings from the U.S. Diabetes Surveillance System suggest that, like the general population, prevalence of physical disability may also have declined among persons with diabetes during the last decade. Ultimately, preventing disability will likely depend on a combination of secondary and tertiary prevention along with, ideally, preventing diabetes in the first place.