Chronic Kidney Disease in the Older Adult Patient with Diabetes

Diabetes mellitus (DM) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) are common in middle aged and older adult individuals. DM may accelerate the aging process, and the age-related declines in the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) can pose a challenge to diagnosing diabetic kidney disease (DKD) using standard diagnostic criteria especially with the absence of severe albuminuria among older adults. In the presence of CKD and DM, older adult patients may need multidisciplinary care due to susceptibility to various health issues, e.g., cognitive decline, auditory or visual impairment, various comorbidities, complex medical regimens, and increased sensitivity to medication adverse effects. As a result, it can be challenging to apply recent therapeutic advancements for the general population to older adults. We review the evidence that the benefits from these newer therapies apply equally to older and younger patients with CKD and diabetes type 2 and propose a comprehensive management. This framework will address nonpharmacological measures and pharmacological management with renin angiotensin system inhibitors (RASi), sodium glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2i), non-steroidal mineralocorticoids receptor antagonists (MRAs), and glucagon like peptide 1 receptor agonists (GLP1-RAs).