Prevention of the manifestation of diabetes in the elderly in the presymptomatic stage

Abstract

Diabetes Mellitus is thought as the presymptomatic stage to cause various vascular diseases. From the point of view that diabetes is already a disease, this paper discusses the prevention of the manifestation of diabetes in the elderly. STOP-NIDDM study demonstrated that acarbose, an α-glucosidase inhibitor, reduced the onset of diabetes in impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) subjects by 24%. On the other hand, the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) study for IGT subjects revealed that intensive life style intervention prevented diabetes most powerfully by 58% and metformin treatment also reduced by 31%. Furthermore, HOPE, LIFE, and SCOPE studies against hypertension showed that ACI or ARB reduced diabetes by 20-32%, and the WOSCOT study that pravastatin, a HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor, reduced diabetes by 30%. These accumulated results suggest that the most suitable strategy to prevent diabetes in the elderly is intensive life style intervention, and in cases incapable of exercise and diet therapy, acarbose or metformin are recommended for IGT. When associated with hypertension and/or hyperlipidemia, the subjects have to receive ACI or ARB and statins to prevent diabetes.