Risk of comorbidities up with hypoglycemia in T2DM

(HealthDay)—For patients with type 2 diabetes, hypoglycemia, regardless of its severity, correlates with a significantly increased risk of cardiovascular events, all-cause hospitalization, and mortality, according to research published in the April issue of Diabetes Care.

Pai-Feng Hsu, M.D., of Taipei Veterans General Hospital in Taiwan and colleagues investigated the correlation between hypoglycemia and clinical outcomes using data from 77,611 patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes in the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research database during 1998 to 2009.

The researchers identified 1,844 hypoglycemic events. There was a higher percentage of comorbidities, including hypertension, renal diseases, cancer, stroke, and heart disease for both mild (outpatient) and severe (inpatient) hypoglycemic cases. During clinical treatment periods, the risk of cardiovascular events was significantly increased for patients with hypoglycemia, in multivariate models, even after adjustment for diabetes treatment. In propensity-matched analysis, patients with mild or severe hypoglycemia were found to be at significantly increased risk for cardiovascular diseases (hazard ratio [HR], 2.09), all-cause hospitalization (HR, 2.51), and total mortality (HR, 2.48).

"In conclusion, symptomatic hypoglycemia, both clinically mild and severe, is associated with an increased risk for cardiovascular events, all-cause hospitalization, and all-cause mortality," the authors write. "Clinically, more attention may be needed for diabetic patients with hypoglycemic episodes."