Washington, April 19: Older diabetics who manage their blood sugar better are at a reduced risk of dying due to complications in comparison to those patients with low glucose levels.
Researchers from Permanente Division of Research followed more than 70,000 type 2 diabetes patients, who were over 60 years of age for about four years.
Their findings revealed that old diabetics with the lowest blood glucose levels have a slightly higher risk of dying due to complications of diabetes such as heart attacks, amputation and kidney disease than those patients controlling their blood sugar in a more normal range.
“We saw increased mortality and complications, as anticipated, among those with very high blood sugars, but we also saw a modestly increased risk of death among those with very low levels of blood sugar,” said Dr. Elbert Huang, the study’s lead author.
Moreover, “we found the best overall outcomes among those with the intermediate levels of control, those with A1Cs below 8 percent but above 6 percent. We observed similar patterns for those in their 60s, 70s, and over 80,” Huang added.
Most current guidelines suggest keeping glucose levels for patients with diabetes quite low with a hemoglobin A1C level of less than seven percent, scientists wrote in the journal Diabetes Care.
However, according to their findings, the researchers believe that future studies may make changes in current recommendations.
“We need more evidence regarding how well the seven percent guideline, which was based on a 1998 British trial that excluded older patients, applies to patients over the age of 60,” Andrew J. Karter, the study’s other lead author.
Explaining the possible reasons behind higher death among diabetics with low glucose level, Karter suggested: “we cannot say whether this unexpected finding is due to the very low blood sugar itself, the treatments used to control blood sugars or to some other factors not directly related to the care of diabetes.”
“It may be that the sickest patients at high risk of dying simply had low blood sugars to start with, rather than anything directly associated with the care of diabetes increasing the risk of death,” he added.
——–Agencies