Antidiabetic oral treatment in older people: does frailty matter?

Life expectancy has significantly increased over the past 30 years, with a greater prevalence of diverse disease states, especially type 2 diabetes mellitus. As older persons are a very heterogeneous group with an increased prevalence of comorbidities and a relative inability to tolerate the adverse effects of oral antidiabetic agents, the treatment of type 2 diabetes is particularly demanding. The principles of its management are similar to those in younger patients, but with special considerations linked to comorbidities and clinical status. The available oral antidiabetic drugs include insulin secretagogues (meglitinides and sulfonylureas), biguanides (metformin), alpha-glucosidase inhibitors, thiazolidinediones and newly introduced inhibitors of glucagon-like peptide 1 degrading enzyme dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP-4). In addition, clinical aspects complicate diabetes care in the elderly, including cognitive disorders, physical disability and geriatric syndromes, such as frailty. The European Diabetes Working Party for Older Persons has increased glycaemic recommendations for target haemoglobin A(1c) from <7% to