[Relationship between glycemic control and mental health in community-dwelling older people with diabetes mellitus: The SONIC study].

AIM: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between glycemic control and mental health in community-dwelling older people with diabetes mellitus (DM) from insights that contribute to the management of diabetes in consideration of quality of life (QOL).

METHODS: We used the data of the Septuagenarians, Octogenarians and Nonagenarians Investigation with Centenarians (SONIC) study, a prospective cohort study of community-dwelling older people. The present study included 2,051 older subjects of 70±1 years, 80±1 years and 90±1 years of age. We conducted medical interviews, blood sampling, and the subjects were asked to complete a questionnaire (WHO-5-J) at the venue. Three hundred sixty-eight people were diagnosed with DM. The subjects of this study were 192 people who were undergoing drug therapy for glycemic control. A multiple regression analysis was performed to clarify the relationship between glycemic control (divided as follows: HbA1c<7.0%, good control group; HbA1c≥7.0%, poor control group) and the WHO-5-J score, as the dependent variable, after adjusting for any confounding factors.

RESULTS: In subjects of 70 years of age, a negative association was found between glycemic control and the WHO-5-J score, with the good control group showing a significantly lower score (β: -0.468, p<0.01) in comparison to the poor control group. In detail, we observed a significant difference in the sub-items of WHO-5-J, question item 3, "I have felt active and vigorous" at 70 years of age (good control group, 2.56±1.37; poor control group, 3.21±1.18; p=0.021) and question item 5, "My daily life has been filled with things that interest me" (good control group, 2.44±1.21; poor control group, 3.11±1.11; p=0.009). As for the two questions, the WHO-5-J scores were lower in the good control group. These associations showed no statistical significance at 80 years of age or 90 years of age.

CONCLUSION: The results obtained in this study indicated that strict glycemic control management of diabetes mellitus may lead to a lower mental QOL in younger elderly individuals (70 years of age). Therefore, it is important to pay attention to the mental burdens of the management of glycemic control in older people with DM.