Diabetes and the Elderly

Diabetes and the Elderly




















Abstract
This paper will summarize and critique George & Thomas’s study of the treatment of diabetes type 2 in the older patient in rural areas. The study further identifies different medications and modifications for the older patient. This paper focuses on the older patient located in rural areas that have been diagnosed with diabetes type 2.















Diabetes & the Elderly
Problem
As people continue to live longer and become heavier, the prevalence of type 2 diabetes continues to increase. According to the National Health and Nutrition Survey in 2005-2006, the prevalence of type 2 diabetes peaked between the ages of 60 to 74 years of age (Kirkman, Briscoe, Clark, Florez, Haas, Halter, Huang, Korytkowski, Munshi, Odegard, Pratley, & Swift, 2010).
. Of the people within this age group approximately 23% have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes (George & Thomas, 2010). The epidemic of type 2 diabetes is directly linked to the increasing numbers of overweight people within the United States (George & Thomas, 2010).
Once known as adult-onset or noninsulin-dependent diabetes, type 2 diabetes is defined as a condition that affects the way the body metabolizes sugar or glucose (McCulloch, Munshi, Nathan, Schmader, & Mulder, 2014).
. Type 2 diabetes causes the body to resist insulin or fails to produce enough insulin to regulate a normal glucose level. The elderly patients that are diagnosed with this disorder experience morbidity and mortality rates higher than that of individuals without diabetes; thus causing a higher risk for cognitive impairment, falls, polypharmacy, and other functional disabilities (George & Thomas, 2010).
Purpose and Implication
There is no cure for type 2 diabetes, only control of the symptoms that are associated with the disease process. As the population ages, the incidence of type 2 diabetes within the elderly population will also continue to increase....

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