[Mortality risks of type 2 diabetes mellitus among elderly patients: a 17-year cohort study].

Objective: To explore the mortality risks of elders with and without type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) during a fellow-up period of 17 years.

Methods: The subjects were elderly patients (>60 years old) undergoing annual health examinations at our hospital. And the incidence and risk factors were analyzed by Kaplan-Meier method and COX's proportional hazard.

Results: A total of 2 142 subjects were divided into T2DM group (DM, n = 746) and non-T2DM group (N-DM, n = 1 396). During a 17-year follow-up, the mortality rate of all causes was 50.9% in DM group versus 32.45% in N-DM group (P < 0.01). The major mortality causes were malignant tumor, respiratory disease and cardiovascular disease. Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that the accumulative mortality of all causes and cardiovascular with DM was significantly above that of N-DM. The independent mortality risk factors of elders was T2DM (P < 0.01, HR = 1.36, 95% CI: 1.192-1.558) and cardiovascular disease (P < 0.01, HR = 3.26, 95% CI: 2.887-3.690) based upon the COX's proportional hazard analysis.

Conclusion: Type 2 diabetes mellitus is an independent risk factor for elders with increased mortality risk.