[The education level of elderly diabetics]

The education of diabetic subjects has been the object of numerous studies which have demonstrated its importance as an integral part of treatment. Few studies have focused on the particular problem of education in the elderly.

An inquiry was conducted in 60 elderly patients with diabetes in order to assess their knowledge of the disease, comparing those who had received specific education and those who had not, and to determine the characteristic features of patients who had received education. A specific questionnaire was designed for this study. The maximal score was 50.

Mean age of the 60 patients was 77 years (range 65-94). Lack of knowledge was most patent concerning acute metabolic decompensation with hypoglycemia an hyperglycemia and concerning foot care. Only one-third of the patients had received diabetic education. The average score in the educated group was 42 +/- 0.4 versus 23 +/- 7 in the non-educated group (p = 0.0001). The best results were obtained in educated and younger patients. The inquiry showed that education had been distributed preferentially to the youngest patients, to men, and to patients treated with insulin.

Our findings demonstrate that elderly diabetics can benefit from an education program and prove a real insufficiency in current education of elderly diabetics. These results should also lead to further work on an educational tool specifically designed for elderly diabetics.