Diabetes prevalence among older people receiving care at home: associations with symptoms, health status and psychological well‐being

AIMS:To determine the prevalence of diabetes among older people receiving care at home, and to explore differences in sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, symptoms, health status, quality of life and psychological well-being between diabetes categories defined as HbA1c ≥ 48 mmol/mol (6.5%) and/or self-report. METHODS:A community-based sample of 377 people receiving care at home in Western Norway participated in a cross-sectional survey. Instruments included the MMSE-NR, Symptom Check-List, WHO Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF, global items), EuroQol EQ-5D-5L/EQ-5D-VAS and WHO-Five Well-Being Index (WHO-5). Participants were grouped into four categories: no diabetes, self-report only, HbA1c ≥ 48 mmol/mol (6.5%) and self-report, and HbA1c ≥ 48 mmol/mol (6.5%) only. RESULTS:Median age (IQR) was 86 (81-91) years and 34% of the sample were men. We identified 92 people (24%) with diabetes. Diabetes was more prevalent in men than women (34% vs. 20%, age-adjusted P = 0.005). Among people with diabetes, 14% were unaware of their diagnosis. There were significant differences in symptoms between the diabetes categories, with more symptoms (abnormal thirst, polyuria, genital itching, nausea, excessive hunger, perspiring, cold hands/feet, daytime sleepiness) among the groups with elevated HbA1c . Significant differences in WHO-5, WHOQOL-BREF and EQ-5D-5L between diabetes categories were identified, with the poorest scores in the group with undiagnosed diabetes. CONCLUSIONS:A high percentage of people with diabetes receiving care at home are unaware of their diagnosis. Diabetes deserves increased case-finding efforts and allocation of resources towards those receiving care at home to alleviate symptoms and the burden of inadequate diabetes care.