Clinical -epidemiological behaviour of diabetes mellitus in patients older than 60 years old

Abstract

Introduction: the Diabetes Mellitus is nowadays a true world-wide epidemic, because of its high prevalence, since it is estimated that in the year 2030 it will surpass the amount of 435 millions of ill persons, it has turned into an increasing problem; threatening the welfare of the populations and the economic prosperity of the countries.
Objective: to characterize the clinical epidemiological behaviour of the diabetes mellitus in the third age, belonging to the health area of the Educational Polyclinic Jimmy Hirtzel, in Bayamo Municipality, Granma.
Method: it was performed a prospective, transversal and descriptive study of the elders during the period comprised between July and December of the 2013. The universe was constituted by the 200 dispensarized elders like diabetics in the family clinical records of the family medical office of the health area that belongs to the Educational Polyclinic Jimmy Hirtzel of Bayamo. The sample was integrated by 101 geronts (50, 5 % of the universe) selected at random. There were studied the following variables: age, gender, types of diabetes, therapeutic diagrams, therapeutic adherence and metabolic control, they were obtained by means of the interrogation and complemented by the review of the individual clinical histories.
Results: the diabetes mellitus type 2 mostly affected the age group of 60-69 years (51, 0 %; P > 0, 05) and the feminine sex (60, 9 %). It was found  that the 56,3 percent of the elderly applied diet and oral hypoglycemiants for the control of their illness  ( 56,3 % ), followed by the combination of the diet, the oral hypoglycemiants and the insulin ( 20 cases; 19,5 % ), the 85,2 % fulfilled properly with the medical treatment, when presenting a daily frequency in the medicine administration, the 85,2 % enjoyed an ideal metabolic control, the 19,2 percent presented an acceptable control, and only the 2,9 % had severe disorders.
Conclusions: it is necessary to take care of the interventions that may help the patients to keep or have of a better control of the medications and educate them about the importance of the adhesion to the treatment, especially in these important ages or decades of life. Besides,  the glycaemia control involves a challenge for the current model of attention of the diabetes mellitus type 2, where it is considered  the need to pose a care strategy that guarantee services of quality, incorporating the point of the patient with the purpose to develop suitable aptitudes of self care in promotion, prevention and treatment.