Innovation of diagnosis and treatment priorities and strategies under the guidance of Chinese Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Diabetes in the Elderly (2024 Edition)

With the acceleration of population aging in China, the prevalence of diabetes continues to rise and has become a significant public health issue threatening the health of the elderly. Patients with geriatric diabetes are characterized by high heterogeneity, multiple comorbidities, high risk of complications, and great difficulty in management, which pose greater challenges to clinical diagnosis and treatment. The physiological functions and metabolic status of elderly patients with diabetes show significant differences compared with younger patients, resulting in unique features in the occurrence, progression, and treatment of the disease. Therefore, Chinese Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Diabetes in the Elderly (2024 Edition) (hereinafter referred to as the "New Guidelines") have been developed. The "New Guidelines" systematically elaborate on the particularities of geriatric diabetes, diagnosis, prevention and treatment, complications, and management of comorbidities, and propose many innovative views. The "New Guidelines" emphasize the principle of individualized treatment for elderly patients with diabetes, pointing out that treatment plans should take into account factors such as the patient's age, physical condition, complications, and personal preferences to achieve the best therapeutic effect. Meanwhile, the "New Guidelines" also pay special attention to the nutritional management, exercise guidance, and mental health of elderly patients with diabetes, proposing a comprehensive integrated management strategy. This paper will review the development process and current research status of geriatric diabetes diagnosis and treatment in China in combination with the "New Guidelines", and propose the key points and improvement strategies for the diagnosis and treatment of geriatric diabetes. In addition, we will focus on the long-term follow-up and management of elderly patients with diabetes and propose how to achieve standardized comprehensive management of patients through multidisciplinary team cooperation, in order to better guide and help clinicians to achieve standardized comprehensive management of elderly patients with diabetes and improve the clinical outcomes of Chinese elderly patients with diabetes.