[Diabetes mellitus in advanced age. 6. On the life expectancy following diabetes manifestation (a 23-year mortality follow-up of diabetic patients in a regional district)].

Of all 166 diabetics of all age groups of a rural district detected 23 years ago, the further course of the disease could be followed in 147 patients up to their death and to the present time, respectively. After 8 years 64.6% were still living, after 16 years 29.9% and after 23 years 13.6% of these patients. The body weight at the manifestation of the disease was prognostically only low of relevance. The prognostic importance of the higher-degree adiposity seems to lie prevailingly in the earlier manifestation of diabetes, less in shortening the remaining life span. The trend of the weight development of the patients presently still alive moved towards reaching or keeping normal weight, independent of the initial body weight, while the contrary tendency in long-term diabetics is exceptional. Test admissions covered by a glycosuria screening and deceased meanwhile lived on average 1 year longer than spontaneous admissions, the same age of manifestation supposed. Only 13.4% of all deceased patients had reached the higher expectation of life of a normal population of the GDR of the same age on manifestation, which underlines the presently still unsatisfactory long-term prognosis of the diabetic patients.