Keywords
elderly and senile patients
hypoglycemia
hypoglycemic syndrome
Abstract
Hypoglycemic syndrome is an acute and life-threatening emergency that often develops in elderly and senile patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) and leads to increased morbidity and mortality.
The aim of this review is to highlight current knowledge about the epidemiology, pathophysiology, clinical picture, treatment and prevention of hypoglycemic syndrome in elderly and senile people.
Material and methods. To achieve this goal, a search and analysis of full-text articles was conducted using the PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus databases. The search was conducted using the key terms “hypoglycemia”, “hypoglycemic syndrome” and “elderly and senile people”. It included randomized controlled trials, meta-analyses and individual book editions and covered English-language and Ukrainian-language publications over the past 25 years (from January 2001 to January 2026). The search yielded 78 publications. Of these, 32 studies met the inclusion criteria and formed the basis of this review.
Results. Hypoglycemia is more common in the elderly, with the risk of developing hypoglycemia doubling after 60 years of age. Hypoglycemia is associated with a two- to threefold increase in mortality with increasing age and a history of severe hypoglycemia. Hypoglycemia is a risk factor for several geriatric syndromes, such as dementia, depression, falls, and fractures. The article describes the pathophysiology, risk factors, diagnostic criteria, clinical manifestations, and treatment of hypoglycemia in elderly and senile patients.
Conclusions. The management of elderly people with DM is often accompanied by comorbidities, reduced life expectancy, and the development of severe complications, such as hypoglycemia. Therapy of hypoglycemic syndrome should be carried out taking into account the individual characteristics of the elderly and senile patient in order to prevent the development of side effects and complications.
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