Quality of Life is Increasing for Seniors with Diabetes



It is no surprise that with improvements in medical treatment for the elderly, lifespans are on the rise. Our senior population is growing fast, but we often wonder is it quality over quantity? If we are going to live longer, don’t we want to have more years of comfort, rather than disability and illness? A recent study shows that those in search of physical health and rejuvenation later and longer in life are in luck.  These medical advancements are bolstering the quality of life for seniors and lessoning the inevitability of disabilities earlier on, especially in those suffering from type 1 or type 2 diabetes.

Research shows that diabetic seniors born in the 1940s have many more disability-free years than those born in the 30s. On an average, American seniors between the ages of 50 and 70 are enjoying more years without disabilities, with our without chronic illness.

Thanks to hip and knee replacements, promotion of healthy lifestyles and improvements to diabetes and heart disease management, quality of life is sustained until later and disabilities are being postponed until after age 70 on an average. In essence, over the past two decades, the medical world has learned how to compress disability, or lessen the amount of time a patient will suffer physical ailments, pushing the occurrence of disability further into the future.

Co-author of the study, which was published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, Dr. Edward Gregg, stressed the importance of diabetes prevention when looking towards more years of disability-free senior living. Focusing on a healthy diet and exercise, and staying away from smoking and alcohol can greatly improve one’s chances at being healthy and disability-free later in life. Although so much more is known today about living with type 1 and type 2 diabetes in the senior years, maintenance and management can be costly and time consuming. Reducing the risk of developing these diseases at all in life is still the best bet.

A colleague who published a related study, Dr. Evelyn Wong of Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia, suggested that the success of this study is showing how management of chronic conditions is really improving and pushing the inevitability of disability much later in life. Unfortunately, more people than ever are developing diabetes, so prevention is still the key, even though management is moving forward. Further research is needed in this area to accurately assess the cost of disability postponement.