Excerpt:老年人需要积极应对大流行相关的风险，这些风险可能使早期发现和控制2型糖尿病更具挑战性。关于预防、逆转和管理糖尿病的生活方式措施的新知识，以及设定与年龄相适应的血糖控制目标，可以带来更好的健康结果。新的工具，如智能手机应用程序和快速血糖监测也可以支持更好的血糖和糖尿病管理。
世界糖尿病日*是11月14日，这是弗雷德里克·班廷爵士的生日，1921年，他和查尔斯·贝斯特在多伦多大学共同发现了胰岛素。*一个世纪后，患有2型糖尿病的老年人需要积极主动地管理与大流行相关的健康风险增加。
Those who are infected with COVID-19 have a much higher risk of developing severe complications,* according to aLancetstudy, which highlights the critical importance of double vaccination and following other safety precautions.
The pandemic has also exacerbated risk factors for developing type 2 diabetes, such as unhealthy eating and less physical activity,* says Diabetes Canada. Reduced access to diabetes care has made it harder to detect pre-diabetes and diabetes early, and act toprevent or manage diabetes effectively.* In the United Kingdom, for example, over six million diabetes tests were missed in six months, representing over 700,000 missed prediabetes and diabetes diagnoses,* reported the European Association for the Study of Diabetes.
New tools and knowledge aboutdiabetes prevention and managementcan help seniors to address these risks and stay healthy:
- Stand more, sit less.Standing longer each day is associated with better insulin sensitivity,* reported a 2021Journal of Science and Medicine in Sportstudy. Regular standing breaks to reduce sitting time can help to reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, especially for less active people.
- Prevent or reverse diabetes.Older adults at high risk for diabetes美国国家糖尿病、消化和肾脏疾病研究所的一项研究报告称，每周锻炼150分钟、摄入较少脂肪和热量的人患2型糖尿病的风险降低了71%。ALancetstudy found type 2 diabetes could potentially be reversed through medically supported weight loss.* Nearly 90% of people who lost 15 kilograms put their type 2 diabetes into remission.
- Set age-appropriate blood sugar control goals.Diabetes is a condition where both high and low blood sugar levels can be harmful to the body. New diabetes guidelines advise that for older adults—and especially those at high risk for hypoglycemia—blood sugar targets (often measured as a specific hemoglobin A1c level) should not be as tightly controlled or low as for younger adults,* according to Harvard Medical School. This can help to reduce the risks of low blood sugars, leading to weakness, dizziness and falls.*
- Use an app to help control blood sugar.Smart phone apps such as Sugar Sense, Diabetes Connect, Fooducate and Glucose Buddy can help you track blood sugar levels, carbs, weight, and blood pressure to better monitor and manage diabetes.*
- 考虑一下瞬时血糖监测。Flash glucose monitoring is a method of blood sugar testing that measures, displays, and continuously stores glucose readings that are recorded automatically.* This gives people with diabetes a more complete picture of their glucose control, which can give an early warning of potential hypoglycemia and potentially lead to better treatment decisions and health outcomes.*