To investigate the status of glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and its influencing factors in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in third-grade class-A hospitals in Yunnan Province, China.

From October 2015 to May 2016, 151 elderly patients with T2DM at five third-grade class-A hospitals in Yunnan were selected as subjects for analysis of demographic information, body mass index (BMI), blood glucose, and blood pressure. Assessment of blood glucose control and analysis of its influencing factors. One-way ANOVA was used to compare the differences of fasting blood glucose (FPG), postprandial blood glucose (2 h PG), glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) in different age groups. t-test was used to compare the differences of FPG, 2 h PG and HbA1c between different education groups, different BMI groups, different diabetic course groups and different blood pressure groups.

The patients included had a mean age of (73.4±7.4) years, course of disease of (11.4±8.0) years, and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) of (8.8±2.2)%. The percentage of patients with HbA1c<7.0% was 19.2%. The patients had a mean BMI of (24.3±3.6) kg/m², and the percentage of patients with a BMI<24 kg/m² was 50.3%. Patients with fasting blood glucose (FPG)<7.0 mmol/L accounted for 33.1%, and those with postprandial 2 h blood glucose (2 h PG)<10.0 mmol/L accounted for 23.8%. According to age (60 to 69 years, 70 to 79 years, and≥ 80 years old), there were statistically significant differences in HbA1c [(8.1±2.0)% vs (8.9±1.8)% vs (9.2±2.5)%, F=3.711, P=0.027] and 2 h PG [(11.6±3.1) mmol/L vs (14.9±5.0) mmol/L vs (14.4±5.7) mmol/L, F=5.829, P=0.004] among the three groups, although there was no significant difference in FPG [(7.7±2.6) mmol/L vs (9.5±3.6) mmol/L vs (9.3±3.4) mmol/L, F=2.948, P=0.056]. According to the degree of education (junior high school and below vs high school and above), HbA1c differed significantly between the two groups [(9.0±2.2)% vs (8.2±2.0)%, t=2.269, P=0.025], although there was no significant difference in FPG or 2 h PG (P>0.05). There were no significant differences in HbA1c, FPG, or 2 h PG according to BMI (<24 kg/m² vs ≥24 kg/m²), blood pressure (normal vs high), or duration of diabetes (<10 years vs ≥10 years) (P>0.05).

The blood glucose control of elderly T2DM patients in the five third-level first-class hospitals in Yunnan is related to age and education level. With the increase of age, the blood glucose control is poor, and the higher the education level, the better the blood glucose control. BMI, blood pressure, and the course of diabetes have no significant effect on blood glucose control.