Among adults aged 65 years, the prevalence of diagnosed diabetes was
15.3%, representing 5.4 million individuals in the U.S. The prevalence of undiagnosed
diabetes was 6.9% or 2.4 million individuals. Elderly individuals with middle age– onset
diabetes had a much greater burden of microvascular disease but have a similar burden of
macrovascular disease compared with individuals with elderly onset diabetes. Elderly individuals
with middle age– onset diabetes had substantially worse glycemic control (proportion
of individuals with HbA1c 7% 59.9%) compared with either elderly onset (41.6%)
or nonelderly individuals with diabetes (55.3%). Individuals with elderly onset diabetes
were also less likely to be taking glucose-lowering medications.