Older Adults Manage Diabetes Better with Smart Insulin Pumps

A new look at how older people with type 1 diabetes handle their blood sugar using a smart pump. Researchers examined a group of seniors who used the MiniMed 780G automated insulin delivery system to see how well it kept their sugar levels in check.

The study looked at 97 people aged 60 and older, most of them women. Their average age was about 68. The data showed that on average they spent about 76% of the day in the safe sugar range, about 51% in a tighter range, and only a little over 1% below the safe zone.

Fourteen of the participants followed the device maker’s recommended settings, aiming for a target of 5.5 mmol/L and two hours of active insulin. Their numbers were close to those who didn’t follow the exact plan. When the group was split by how well they stayed in the tighter range, more than half achieved the goal. The use of the recommended settings was about the same in both the high‑performing and lower‑performing groups.

A statistical model found that better sugar control was linked to certain factors, and the high‑control group used less automatic insulin correction, giving about 14% less than the lower‑control group. This suggests that tweaking the pump’s behavior can help older users stay steadier.