Health: Diabetes and aging

July 12th 2004

With a steadily aging society, American health care is in a constant sprint to keep up with the continuing influx of the elderly and their unique needs. One of the needs that appears to have fallen behind in the rush is the care of elderly with diabetes.

With the high amounts of care many diabetics need, the combination of age and the disease can often form a dangerous, if not deadly, combination.  According to a study by the National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse in 2000, 7 million, or 20.1 percent of all people 65 and over have diabetes.

Those numbers promises to grow dramatically in the future.  How the elderly cope with the strain of diabetes is varied. Some get in-house nursing; a nurse to come in daily to administer insulin shots.

Others rely heavily on support of their grown children or other family members, while other stay independent and take care of themselves Marilyn Shankar, a Diabetes Educator for Health Educators Medical Group in San Bernardino, Calif., said that the type of care an elderly person gets depends on the person’s personality.
 

“In my little world, I think they get really good care, I don’t know if that’s a blanket thing though,” Shankar said. “I think a big problem is that in these times, situations demand that patients be assertive when they are with their physicians so they can get the care they need.”

Shankar said some of the problems she sees are in elderly patients who crave independence. “If they are living alone, (a problem) is that they get enough to eat, they may not want to eat,” she said. “They may not feel comfortable to exercise. (Also) they can’t get enough blood for tests, their circulation is poor and that can affect the tests.”

A big problem with anyone with diabetes, let alone the elderly, is the mental anguish it puts a person through. The loneliness and depression diabetes brings on can be hard for even the strongest person to bear.

Depression can be a serious problem for people with diabetes. Depression is a common occurrence among many elderly people, regardless of health status. Adding diabetes to that can result in profound mental illnesses if left untreated. Any person having these feelings should get help from a physician, often just talking about the problem to a doctor or counselor is a big help.
“Diabetes is a full-body disease,” Shankar said. “It affects emotions and the whole body. That’s the hardest for people to live with when it’s chronic like that. You’re more apt to be depressed throughout your life.

If your blood sugars go up you can have great mood swings, you can be tired a lot.”Being proactive with the disease is the best way to handle its complications many experts say, and Shankar agrees.

“The elderly, what they need to do is continually keep in touch with their diabetes by talking with their doctors, support groups to see that they are not alone with it,” she said. “People can live a long time, we have 75-year-old people who have diabetes since they were 5, It’s not a death sentence. It often can even be managed without medication.”

For the elderly, often day to day life can be a challenge, especially if dealing with other illnesses aside from diabetes. Being proactive, and knowing when to request help are the best ways for an elderly diabetic to cope with his daily challenges, and put themselves in a position to lead a strong, healthy life.

William K. Wolfrum is a freelance writer based in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
His work has appeared in numerous magazines, newspapers and Web sites.