Diabetes Low blood sugar increases the risk of death

Diabetes Type II: Low blood sugar levels also pose health risks

19/04/2011

Lowering blood sugar levels is an essential part of treatment for type 2 diabetics to prevent the negative health effects of hyper glycemia. But lowering the blood sugar level also brings with it significant health risks, according to US scientists led by Elbert Huang from the University of Chicago.

In type II diabetes, lowering blood sugar levels is an essential part of the treatment. But lowering the blood sugar levels of healthy people can bring serious health consequences for diabetics and is therefore not recommended, warn the US researchers at the University of Chicago. They have found in their studies that lowering the blood sugar level is associated with an increased mortality rate for type 2 diabetics.

Reduction of blood sugar levels to avoid further diseases
In general, type 2 diabetes reduces blood sugar levels to prevent dangerous nerve damage and wound healing disorders and to minimize the risk of stroke or heart attack. Most type 2 diabetes therapies, for example, lower blood sugar levels - preferably to normal levels. The so-called HbA1c value expresses the long-term blood glucose values ​​of the past two to three months, which are between four and six percent in healthy people. In the case of type 2 diabetics, treatment attempts to keep HbA1c levels below 8 percent to minimize the threat of over-hypertension, Elbert Huang and colleagues said when presenting their study results. However, too drastic lowering of the blood sugar level is rather counterproductive, since this can also bring considerable health problems and causes an increased risk of death, the US researchers report.

Lowering the blood sugar level increases the risk of death
The so-called Accord study had already shown in 2008 that lowering the blood sugar level in type 2 diabetics to the value of healthy people causes an increased risk of death. Thus, the number of deaths among participants, who lowered their blood sugar to a supposedly normal level with insulin syringes and tablets, increased significantly in the course of the study, so that the investigation had to be stopped early. In their study, the US researchers now refer to the data of more than 71,000 people with type 2 diabetes, who had been participating in an observational study on diabetes and aging for over four years. As expected, the US researchers found an increased number of complications and deaths in type 2 diabetics with significantly above-average long-term blood glucose levels. But even with low blood glucose levels showed a slightly increased risk of death, said Elbert Huang and colleagues.

Blood sugar levels between six and eight percent are recommended?
According to the results of the US researchers, the risk of death and health consequences are lowest for type 2 diabetics with HbA1c values ​​between eight and six percent, said study leader Elbert Huang. The age of the patients did not play a special role, the US researcher continued. „We can not say whether this result is due to the very low blood sugar levels themselves, to the blood glucose control treatment, or to any other factors not directly related to diabetes treatment“, said the also involved in the study Andrew Karter. For a more accurate evaluation of the results and a transfer into the clinical practice, further studies are necessary.

Diabetics trained on low blood sugar levels
The negative effects of lowering blood sugar levels are probably due to the fact that diabetics who keep their blood glucose levels close to hypoglycaemia for fear of secondary damage literally train their body for low blood sugar levels. Thus, the symptoms of hypoglycaemia are often no longer noticed or too late and at blood glucose levels of about 27 milligrams per decilitre, those affected are suddenly unconscious. In addition to the increased risk of death dementia are one of the possible consequences of these severe hypoglycemia. (Fp)

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