Club's CADENZA Project launches series of studies on common diseases among older people

26 May 2009

Diabetes is a common disease among the older population. Research figures show that one in every five older people suffers from diabetes, and the future number of diabetic patients can be expected to grow in line with Hong Kong's rapidly ageing population. To help prepare society for meeting this challenge, CADENZA: A Jockey Club Initiative for Seniors, an elderly project initiated by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust in collaboration with the Faculty of Medicine of The Chinese University of Hong Kong and the Faculty of Social Sciences of The University of Hong Kong, is conducting a series of studies entitled Challenges of Population Ageing on Disease Trends and Burden with the Department of Community Medicine, School of Public Health of The University of Hong Kong. The studies focus on common diseases among the elderly.

Diabetes was chosen as the first research topic of the series, and the findings were announced today (26 May). The report suggests that elder-oriented treatment and services, taking into account older people's physical and cognitive impairments, may help them manage their diabetic conditions, with a view to reducing the disease burden, including the costs to the public healthcare system.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club's Executive Director, Charities, William Y Yiu explained that the ageing population would magnify the impact of common diseases among the older population in society. CADENZA had therefore initiated a series of studies on eight common ailments including diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, dementia, strokes and fractures. "This series of studies will identify trends in these illnesses, predict their future development and assess the burdens they are likely to create for the individuals concerned and the community," Mr Yiu said. "We will also make recommendations on how the situation can be improved, so as to lessen the impact in the years to come as the population ages."

In 2006, there were over 110,000 diabetic patients aged 65 or above, making up 50% of all adult diabetes patients in Hong Kong. Although there is no clear evidence of either increasing or decreasing prevalence, the number of older people with diabetes will rise to about 300,000 in 30 years' time as the population ages. By then, older people will make up 70% of all adult diabetic cases

Older people with diabetes generally have poorer quality of life and are more likely to have depressive symptoms than those without. They are also more prone to functional and cognitive impairment, in addition to the well-known complications. About 58% of older people with diabetes have complications such as hypertension, heart disease, progressive eye failure or even stroke, in some cases due to poor control of diabetes.

Based on 2006 figures, the CADENZA study shows the estimated total burden imposed by diabetic patients aged 65 or above on Hong Kong's public medical services was HK$1.4 billion, with public spending of nearly HK$12,000 on every diabetic patient. It is projected that the total attributable medical cost of diabetes in Hong Kong will increase to about HK$3.5 billion in 2036 (at 2006 prices).

The study draws attention to the fact that older people are less capable of managing the disease than younger patients as it impairs them both physically and cognitively. For example, elderly people may find it more difficult to follow complex drug regimes or to use monitoring devices such as blood glucose meters. They may also find it difficult to cope with multiple service providers in multiple locations. In addition, they tend to be more reluctant to change their long-standing lifestyles.

To help them better control the disease, hence reducing the costs and burden, CADENZA suggests providing elder-oriented care. It says assessments of older diabetes patients should take into account their physical, functional, psychological, nutritional and social needs in order to guide the disease management plan. These services could be provided in a user-friendly and convenient community setting integrating medical and social activities to help older patients better manage and monitor their disease.

Details of the study's results will be published in a report in June 2009.  Please refer to the attached Executive Summary of the report.

CADENZA: A Jockey Club Initiative for Seniors

CADENZA: A Jockey Club Initiative for Seniors is a five-year project launched by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust with a donation of HK$380 million in 2006. The project aims at nurturing academic leadership in social gerontology and changing the mindset and attitude of the general public through a range of training and public education programmes. Cross-sectional collaboration between organisations and the implementation of innovative elderly services and programmes are also encouraged in order to bring about a new mode of elderly care services to prepare for a rapidly ageing society. Details of CADENZA are available at www.cadenza.hk.