Prevalence of diabetes mellitus in a sample of the elderly population of the city of Catania

The prevalence of diabetes mellitus is increasing world-wide, even if it varies markedly in the geographical areas and populations investigated. This study is part of the Progetto Finalizzato Invecchiamento (Aging Project) of the Italian NCR (National Research Council) and is aimed at investigating the prevalence of diabetes and selected clinical characteristics in a study sample aged between 65 and 84 years of age resident in Catania (Italy). The prevalence rate for type II diabetes was 22.8% and it is certainly among the highest values recorded to date in other areas of Italy and abroad. We distinguished between two forms of diabetes in subjects >70 years of age: aged diabetes with onset in middle age (AD); and diabetes of senescence with onset after 70 years of age (DS). Prevalence rate was 18% for AD and 4.8% for DS, respectively. The age-specific rates of AD and DS show the progressive lower prevalence rates of the former and the higher rates of the latter. We assume that DS is mainly caused by atherosclerotic processes and represents the typical form of diabetes in the elderly.