Rie Tanaka1,2, Shinobu Motohashi1, Junko Morioka1, Akimitsu Takahashi1, Katsuya Yamazaki1, Koichi Kawai1.
Abstract
Aims: Continuity of diabetes care is relevant among elderly patients. The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of clinical characteristics on continuing outpatient visits to a specialized diabetes clinic in elderly Japanese patients with diabetes.
Methods: We included outpatients with type 2 diabetes aged ≥ 65 years who first visited our clinic from 2006 to 2009. The information of patients' characteristics was obtained through medical record review from the CoDiC database. We have tracked whether the patients continued to visit the clinic until May 31, 2019. A Cox proportional hazards regression model identified variables related to withdrawal.
Results: Among 128 patients, 63 patients (49.2%) were withdrawn during the follow-up periods. The average visit duration of withdrawals was 4.6 (range 1, 10) years. The patients who discontinued to visit were older (72.6 vs. 69.5 years old, p = 0.005) compared with those who continued to visit. No significant differences in clinical conditions such as complication of diabetes, Charlson Comorbidity Index and polypharmacy between the first and last visit were observed in each group. Age (≥ 75 years) was significantly associated with withdrawal (hazard ratio 2.72 [95% confidence interval 1.59, 4.63], p < 0.001). Except for age, no significant differences were observed in all variables when adjusted for confounders. Conclusions: Our findings indicated that continuous outpatient visits were difficult in elderly Japanese patients with diabetes. Older age (≥ 75 years) independently affected withdrawal. Future multicenter studies with adequate populations and social and geriatric factors are necessary to confirm our findings. © The Japan Diabetes Society 2022.
Aims: Continuity of diabetes care is relevant among elderly patients. The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of clinical characteristics on continuing outpatient visits to a specialized diabetes clinic in elderly Japanese patients with diabetes.
Methods: We included outpatients with type 2 diabetes aged ≥ 65 years who first visited our clinic from 2006 to 2009. The information of patients' characteristics was obtained through medical record review from the CoDiC database. We have tracked whether the patients continued to visit the clinic until May 31, 2019. A Cox proportional hazards regression model identified variables related to withdrawal.
Results: Among 128 patients, 63 patients (49.2%) were withdrawn during the follow-up periods. The average visit duration of withdrawals was 4.6 (range 1, 10) years. The patients who discontinued to visit were older (72.6 vs. 69.5 years old, p = 0.005) compared with those who continued to visit. No significant differences in clinical conditions such as complication of diabetes, Charlson Comorbidity Index and polypharmacy between the first and last visit were observed in each group. Age (≥ 75 years) was significantly associated with withdrawal (hazard ratio 2.72 [95% confidence interval 1.59, 4.63], p < 0.001). Except for age, no significant differences were observed in all variables when adjusted for confounders. Conclusions: Our findings indicated that continuous outpatient visits were difficult in elderly Japanese patients with diabetes. Older age (≥ 75 years) independently affected withdrawal. Future multicenter studies with adequate populations and social and geriatric factors are necessary to confirm our findings. © The Japan Diabetes Society 2022.
Entities:
Keywords:
Cohort study; Comorbidity; Elderly diabetic patients; Health services accessibility; Type 2 diabetes mellitus
Year: 2022
PMID： 35693994 PMCID： PMC9174397 DOI： 10.1007/s13340-022-00569-y
Source DB: PubMed Journal: Diabetol Int ISSN： 2190-1678