US health officials have targeted lowering rates of hypoglycemia among people with diabetes, and have classed it as a major public health concern.
Nearly 80 per of older people with type 1 diabetes in the US suffer from hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar, at least once a month, and doctors are still assessing how best to lower hypo rates.
Hypoglycemia rates were discussed at a recent US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) meeting entitled ‘Reducing the Risk of Preventable Adverse Drug Events associated with Hypoglycemia in the Older Population’.
It brought together patient advocates, federal officials and diabetologists to discuss the issue and try to tackle it in a bid to improve health outcomes.
Hypoglycemia develops when blood sugar levels are too low and affects people who take glucose-lowering medication such as insulin or sulphonylureas.
The condition affects more than 50 per cent of those with type 2 diabetes on a monthly basis, it was announced at the event, while people who take both sulphonylureas and insulin were 2.5 times more likely to suffer from hypoglycemia.
It was decided during the meeting that hypoglycemia is still not being prevented and treated as well as it should be.
Speaking on behalf of the Endocrine Society, Dr Robert Lash, a professor at the University of Michigan School of Medicine, said: “It’s amazing that we are still addressing questions of hypoglycemia after so many years of using these two classes of medications. We need to recognise hypoglycemia as an outcomen, not as a side effect.”
Editor’s note: Join the Hypo Training Program to improve your knowledge of hypoglycemia and how to prevent it. Six months after completing the program, an average of 63 per cent of users experience fewer severe hypos.
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