[Management of diabetes in elderly cardiac patients]

In 1998, data from the Assurance Maladie (national health insurance) showed that 11.2% of people over 65 years old, and thus corresponding to the World Health Organisation's definition of being elderly, were diabetic. More recently the Entred trial, a national sample representative of diabetics, clarified the characteristics, the state of health and the medical management of diabetes in patients aged over 65 years. Among the randomly selected 10,000 adults in this study, 5350 subjects (54% of the Entred population) were over 65 years old. Other studies indicate that more than a million subjects aged over 65 years are diabetic and that 25% of diabetics are aged over 75 years. The growing proportion of elderly people in the French population, plus the improvement in the detection and the better management of diabetes are bound to contribute to a further increase in the prevalence of diabetes in elderly subjects.