Abstract:Objective To investigate the protective effects of insulin injection to relieve high glucose toxicity on balance function in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Methods A total of 98 elderly patients with type 2 diabetes were included in this study and were randomly divided into 2 groups: A-group(50 cases) with short-term continuous subcutaneous insulin pump, and B-group (48 cases) with subcutaneous insulin injection for several times. The capability of dynamic balancing and the static balancing were evaluated by the timed up go test (TUGT) and the One-Leg Stance Test (OLST), respectively. Myodynamia of lower limbs was tested by the five times sit-stand test (FTSST). All experiments were performed before and after insulin treatments. Lab tests including fasting blood glucose (FPG), postprandial 2 h blood glucose (2 hPG) were also performed in this study. Results After 2 weeks of insulin treatment, both groups showed improvement in FPG, 2 hPG, TUGT and OLST (open) (P < 0.05) while A-group experienced better recovery of TUGT and OLST (open) when compared with B-group (P < 0.05). No obvious differences in FTSST and OLST (closed) were observed before and after insulin treatments (P > 0.05). The TUGT value was positively correlated with age, stage of disease, HbA1c, 2 hPG, and FTSST (P < 0.05), and negatively correlated with OLST and OLST (closed) (P < 0.05). OLST value was negatively correlated with age, FPG, TUGT, and FTSST (P < 0.05),and positively correlated with OLST (closed) (P < 0.05). Conclusion Insulin injection to relieve glucose toxicity improves dynamic balance ability and static balance ability in elderly patients; short -term insulin pump experiences better achievement compared with discontinuous subcutaneous injection, which could be a better choice for patients with type 2 diabetes to reduce the risk of falls.