Low Blood Sugar is a Bigger Problem Than High Blood Sugar in Elderly

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Low Blood Sugar is a Bigger Problem Than High Blood Sugar in Elderly

A study showing that hospital admission rates for hypoglycemia now outpace those for hyperglycemia among older adults in the United States, first reported at the American Diabetes Association meeting last year, has been published in JAMA Internal Medicine to coincide with another presentation, this time here at the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) 2014 Annual Scientific Meeting this past weekend.

Severe hypoglycemia is the most common acute adverse effect of glucose-lowering therapy among patients with diabetes mellitus and is associated with poor outcomes, lead author Kasia J. Lipska, MD, of the Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut states.

Hospital admissions for hypoglycemia — in other words, for a low blood sugar reaction, which is typically reversible — were associated with around 20% mortality at 1 year.
There should be a call for a change in current practice,” she added. “We have made great strides in reducing hospital admissions for serious hyperglycemia; I think we have to do better with respect to admissions for hypoglycemia.”
And in the study, the very elderly — those aged over 75 — and black patients were particularly at risk for hypoglycemia, she stressed, noting that these patients need to be paid closer attention to with regard to this issue.


JAMA Intern Med. Published online May 17, 2014. Article, Editor’s Note

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