Less than half of diabetic nursing home residents meet blood glucose goals set by the American Diabetes Association.

That was one major finding in a yearlong study that examined the care of elderly residents with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. The results suggest that nursing homes lack a systematic approach to diabetes care, researchers found. Researchers at the Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine conducted the study, which appeared in the journal Diabetes Care. The residents in the study lived in nursing homes in Ohio and West Virginia.

Other study findings: Only 55% of diabetics in the nursing homes studied had satisfactory blood pressure levels. Fewer than one-third had lipids, or serum total cholesterol, checked annually, and of those who did, only 58% had acceptable cholesterol levels, the study found.