Do Older Adults Aged 60-75 Years Benefit From Diabetes Behavioral Interventions?

OBJECTIVE-In this secondary analysis, we examined whether older adults with diabetes (aged 60-75 years) could benefit from self-management interventions compared with younger adults. Seventy-one community-dwelling older adults and 151 younger adults were randomized to attend a structured behavioral group, an attention control group, or one-to-one education. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS-We measured AlC, self-care (3-day pedometer readings, blood glucose checks, and frequency of self-care), and psychosocial factors (quality of life, diabetes distress, frustration with self-care, depression, self-efficacy, and coping styles) at baseline and 3, 6, and 12 months postintervention. RESULTS-Both older (age 67 +/- 5 years, AlC 8.7 +/- 0.8%, duration 20 +/- 12 years, 30% type 1 diabetes, 83% white, 41% female) and younger (age 47 +/- 9 years, AlC 9.2 +/- 1.2%, 18 +/- 12 years with diabetes, 59% type 1 diabetes, 82% white, 55% female) adults had improved AlC equally overtime. Importantly, older and younger adults in the group conditions improved more and maintained improvements at 12 months (older structured behavioral group change in AlC -0.72 +/- 1.4%, older control group -0.65 +/- 0.9%, younger behavioral group -0.55 +/- 1.2%, younger control group -0.43 +/- 1.7%). Furthermore, frequency of self-care, glucose checks, depressive symptoms, quality of life, distress, frustration with self-care, self-efficacy, and emotional coping improved in older and younger participants at follow-up. CONCLUSIONS-The findings suggest that, compared with younger adults, older adults receive equal glycemic benefit from participating in self-management interventions. Moreover, older adults showed the greatest glycemic improvement in the two group conditions. Clinicians can safely recommend group diabetes interventions to community-dwelling older adults with poor glycemic control.