Type 1 diabetes in older populations.

Kahkoska, Anna R; Yang, Peter K; Neumiller, Joshua J; Alexopoulos, Anastasia-Stefania; Allen, Nancy A; Chaytor, Naomi S; Fang, Michael; Golding, Jonathan A et al. · Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol · 2026

review · Level V

Where this comes from

Abstract

In recent decades, life expectancy among people with type 1 diabetes has improved substantially in many high-income countries and well resourced health-care settings, highlighting persistent global inequities in survival for people with type 1 diabetes living in low-income and middle-income countries. Simultaneously, the growing proportion of individuals living into older adulthood in some settings highlights the need to look beyond insulin and glucose to consider the global health systems and wider determinants of health that shape health and longevity in the setting of type 1 diabetes. The goal of this Review is to integrate the psychosocial, environmental, and societal challenges associated with ageing and type 1 diabetes including disease burden, health system and organisational responses, self-care, and caregiver support. Additionally, we identify key research gaps for the future, considering the life course of people with type 1 diabetes in the context of where they live.