The Impact of Diabetes Mellitus on Mortality in Japanese Individuals Who Are 80 Years Old in the General Population

Abstract

To investigate the influence of diabetes mellitus on mortality in Japanese individuals who are 80 years old in the general population, we compared 74 diabetic subjects with 592 non-diabetic subjects who received the general and dental health examinations in Fukuoka prefecture in 1998 and who were followed-up for 4 years and 12 years after the baseline examination to collect data and information on the cause of death. The cumulative survival rate during the 12-year follow-up period from all-cause mortality and pneumonia mortality in the diabetic group was lower than that in the non-diabetic group. A Multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that the risk of mortality in the diabetic group was higher than that in the non-diabetic group (1.76-fold for 4 years and 1.84-fold for 12 years). Notably, the risk of pneumonia mortality in the diabetic group was 3.26-fold and 2.97-fold higher than that in the non-diabetic group at 4 years and 12 years, respectively. During the 12 year follow-up period, the cancer mortality in the diabetic group was 2.42-fold higher than that in the non-diabetic group. In the poor glycemic control group, all-cause mortality at 4 years and all-cause mortality, pneumonia mortality, and cardiovascular disease mortality at 12 years were higher in comparison to the non-diabetic group. Diabetes mellitus increased the risk of mortality, especially pneumonia mortality, even in people who are 80 years old.