Impaired awareness of hypoglycemia tied to greater amounts of time spent with glucose <70, <54 mg/dL
MONDAY, March 25, 2019 (HealthDay News) — Older adults with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1D) spend more than an hour per day in the hypoglycemic range, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of The Endocrine Society, held from March 23 to 26 in New Orleans.
Anders L. Carlson, M.D., from the International Diabetes Center in Minneapolis, and colleagues analyzed data from 203 older adults (≥60 years of age) with T1D enrolled in the Wireless Innovations for Seniors with Diabetes Mellitus at 22 U.S. sites. Participants wore a blinded Dexcom G4 continuous glucose monitor at baseline for up to 21 days.
The researchers found that older adults spent a median of 5.0 and 1.6 percent of time with glucose levels <70 and <54 mg/dL, respectively (72 and 24 minutes per day, respectively). Impaired awareness of hypoglycemia correlated with greater amounts of time spent with glucose levels <70 and <54 mg/dL. Compared with those who were aware or uncertain, those with reduced awareness had a median of 7 versus 5 percent of time with glucose levels <70 mg/dL (101 versus 72 minutes per day) and 3 versus 1 percent of time with glucose levels <54 mg/dL (43 versus 14 minutes per day). Participants who reported an employment status of retired spent more time in the target glucose range than employed or unemployed participants.
“The findings underscore the need for interventions to help reduce the risk of severe hypoglycemia in this age group,” Carlson said in a statement.
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