Impact of Diabetes Duration on Functional and Clinical Status in Older Adults With Type 1 Diabetes

OBJECTIVE Adults with type 1 diabetes (T1D) are aging successfully. The impact of diabetes duration on clinical and functional status as people age with T1D is not well known. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We performed a cross-sectional study of older adults (age >= 65 years) with T1D. RESULTS We evaluated 165 older adults, mean age 70 10 years. After adjustment for age, sex, and A1C, longer duration of T1D, >= 50 years, was associated with a higher likelihood of depression (odds ratio [OR] 2.8; P = 0.008), hypoglycemia unawareness (OR 2.6; P = 0.01), lower scores on 6-Minute Walk Test (OR 0.99; P = 0.01) and the Physical Component Summary (PCS) of Short Form-36 (SF-36) (OR 0.96; P = 0.02), and greater daily medication use (OR 1.1; P = 0.004) compared with those with duration <50 years. CONCLUSIONS In older adults with T1D, duration of diabetes impacts clinical and functional status, independent of age and glycemic control, and should be considered in development of management strategies for safety and success.