Underrepresentation of older adults in diabetes and kidney disease trials
Management of older adults with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease is complex. These individuals often have multiple comorbidities, take several medications, and are at increased risk of adverse drug reactions—factors that necessitate more personalised treatment strategies. However, clinical trials in diabetes and chronic kidney disease often underrepresent older adults, despite these conditions being highly prevalent in the older population. This underrepresentation leads to unclear clinical guidelines; about 30% of physicians find it difficult to apply these guidelines and are forced to extrapolate findings to older adults,1 which ultimately contributes to suboptimal prescribing in this population.
