Report updates impact of hypoglycemia in diabetes

(HealthDay)—An update of the current state of knowledge about the impact of hypoglycemia on patients with diabetes reviews outcomes, strategies to prevent hypoglycemia, and current knowledge gaps, and has been published in the May issue of Diabetes Care.

Elizabeth R. Seaquist, M.D., from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, and colleagues convened a workgroup consisting of members of the American Diabetes Association and The Endocrine Society with expertise on hypoglycemia to review the more recent evidence about the impact of hypoglycemia on patients with diabetes.

The researchers reconfirmed definitions of hypoglycemia in diabetes. They also reviewed the implications of hypoglycemia on short- and long-term outcomes for particular patient populations, and considered the implications of hypoglycemia on treatment outcomes. In addition, they discussed strategies to prevent hypoglycemia and clinical recommendations for those at risk for the condition. Lastly, the authors identified current knowledge gaps in the study of hypoglycemia.

"If patients are to benefit from the reduction in microvascular complications that follows from achieving near-normal levels of glycemia, additional research will be necessary to prevent them from experiencing hypoglycemia and hypoglycemia-associated autonomic failure," Seaquist and colleagues write.

The workgroup meeting was funded by educational grants or sponsorships from several pharmaceutical companies to the American Diabetes Association.