According to a new study (from the University of Michigan Health System and the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System), in older people with diabetes, 92 % of them have at least one other major chronic medical condition while nearly half have three or more major diseases on top of their diabetes.

The sheer number, and the severity, of these other conditions appears to decrease patients' ability to manage their diabetes. The type of co-existing condition also matters, as diabetes self-care lags most among patients with conditions that they think aren't related to their diabetes.

The new findings make it more important than ever, the researchers say, for doctors to "treat the whole person" by helping diabetes patients learn how to deal with their other conditions in ways that will also allow them to control their diabetes.

Findings of the said study are reported in an article published online ahead of print in the December issue of the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

Find more details from the University of Michigan Health System.