Responses to glycemic control therapy according to age, gender, level of adiposity, and duration of diabetes in type 2 diabetic patients.

CONTEXT: It is established that glycemic control measures involving diet and oral medication reduces glycated hemoglobin concentration (HbA1c) in type 2 diabetic patients.

AIMS: To determine whether glycemic levels after diabetic treatment is affected by age, gender, obesity, and diabetic duration in type 2 diabetic patients.

SETTINGS AND DESIGN: A total of 52 type 2 diabetic patients participated in a 12-week diabetic management therapy involving oral medication (metformin) and lifestyle intervention (diet).

MATERIALS AND METHODS: We compared the glycated hemoglobin reduction after treatment between the elderly and non-elderly; males and females; obese and non-obese; and newly diagnosed and long-standing diabetics.

RESULTS: After the diabetic treatment, participants' mean HbA1c level indicated a reduction of 1.1 ± 1.31%, weight loss of 2.46 ± 1.79 kg, and BMI reduction of 0.94 ± 0.69 kg/m 2 . A total of 23 (44.2%) patients had an acceptable HbA1c level of <6.5%. Significantly greater HbA1c reduction was observed in non-elderly, non-overweight/obese, and newly diagnosed diabetic patients compared to the elderly, overweight/obese, and long-standing diabetic patients respectively (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). HbA1c reduction did not indicate sex differences.

CONCLUSION: The present findings suggest lower responses to glycemic control therapy in elderly, overweight/obese, and long-standing diabetic patients when compared to the non-elderly, non-overweight/obese, and newly diagnosed diabetic patients. It is recommended that treatment criteria for type 2 diabetes should account for the age, level of adiposity, and diabetic duration of the patient in order to make optimal therapeutic decisions for the treatment of diabetes mellitus in adults.