The normal range of blood glucose in people in their 80s is 6.0-10 mmol/L fasting or preprandial, 10-12 mmol/L 2h postprandial, and 7.5-8.5% HbA1C.
The damage of long-term hyperglycemia is mainly focused on the damage to large and small blood vessels, that is, chronic complications of large and small vessels, such as coronary heart disease, cerebral infarction, lower limb atherosclerosis, diabetic retinopathy, diabetic nephropathy, etc. And this kind of damage usually takes 5-10 years of influence before it appears, which means the main purpose of blood glucose control for diabetic patients at present is to prevent the appearance of these chronic complications in the next 5-10 years. Therefore glycemic control goals also have to be considered in the context of factors such as patient life expectancy and, of course, specific age, duration of diabetes, underlying physical health status, pre-existing complications or comorbidities, and economic status, among others, which means individualized goals have to be set.
According to the latest Chinese diabetes guidelines for older patients with diabetes, patients are stratified according to health status to set relevant goals: 1. Healthy (less comorbid chronic disease, intact cognitive and functional status), that is, with a long life expectancy, reasonable HbA1C<7.5%, fasting or preprandial glucose 5.0-7.2 mmol/L, bedtime glucose 5.0-8.3 mmol/L; 2. Moderately healthy, i.e., moderately long life expectancy, HbA1C<8.0%, fasting or preprandial glucose 5.0-8.3 mmol/L, bedtime glucose 5.6-8.3 mmol/L; 3. Poorly healthy, HbA1C<8.5%, fasting or preprandial glucose 5.6-10.0 mmol/L, pre-bedtime blood glucose 6.1-11.1 mmol/L.