[Treatment of the frail older diabetic : less is so much more]

Improving glycaemia level is helpful to the clinician in diabetes management. Elderly diabetics make up a group that is non-homogeneous and with a very varied health status, whose treatment must be adjusted to take into account comorbidities, degree of frailty and both functional and mental disability, in addition to their life expectancy and personal preferences. Thus, the target of treatment should be defined along three categories of patients: robust, vulnerable and dependent. This article reviews information from the literature high-lighting current recommendations for treatment, the clear inclination towards overtreatment of the elderly diabetic and the resulting noxious effects of occurring hypoglycemia, that are often not recognized by the patient and his doctor.