DETERMINANTS OF INADEQUATE HEMOGLOBIN VALUES The GLICADA IN THE HEALTH OF THE ELDERLY WITH DIABETES MELLITUS TYPE 2
Elderly, Diabetes Mellitus, Glycated Hemoglobin A, Diagnostic
Diabetes Mellitus is considered a chronic metabolic disease characterized by high blood glucose levels, which in the long term can lead to serious damage to the heart, blood vessels, eyes, kidneys, and nerves. OBJECTIVE: To identify the determinants of inadequate glycated hemoglobin A (HG) values in elderly people with type 2 DM. METHOD: This is an analytical observational cross-sectional study, whose sample (n=107) was selected for convenience and consisted of by elderly people aged 60 years or older, diagnosed with type 2 DM, according to the criteria of the American Diabetes Association (ADA), carried out between August 2017 and December 2018, through a structured interview and application of tests and scales multidimensional screening tools to investigate predictors of GH. The Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests were applied, followed by Dunn's test and the Spearman Correlation Coefficient (ρ), p<0.05. Then, stepwise regression analysis was performed. RESULTS: The sample was mostly female (67.3%), with a mean age of 67.3 ± 4.9 years. Half (49.5%) had an altered level of GH (8.1% or more). For the multivariate study of GH predictors, variables with p<0.10 were selected: gender, number of medications, visual analogue scale (VAS) for lower limb pain (LL), Geriatric Depression Scale-15, Timed Motor Up and Go Test (TUGT), dual-task TUGT, MiniBesTest, WHODAS, time to diagnosis, fasting glucose, subjective perception of vision, handgrip strength, insulin use, lower limb pain, orthostatic hypotension and occurrence of falls . Higher VAS values of pain in lower limbs (β=0.123; 95% CI 0.011; 0.021; p=0.031), presence of orthostatic hypotension (β= 1.061; 95% CI 0.092; 2.030; p=0.032) and using insulin (β= 0.959; 95% CI 0.088; 1.830; p=0.031) increase HG values. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, we emphasize the importance of identifying the determinants that increase the levels of GH, considering the influence of the determinants on health that can be modifiable throughout the course of life, in order to encourage adherence to self-care and avoid severity of symptoms. damage to health that can considerably affect the quality of life of the elderly with DM2.