A new study identifies the risk factors that could help healthcare providers recognize patients being treated for diabetes who are most likely to have low blood sugar.
A new study identifies the risk factors that could help healthcare providers recognize patients being treated for diabetes who are most likely to have low blood sugar. The predictive risk model, developed and tested by researchers from Regenstrief Institute, Indiana University School of Medicine and Merck, known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, is the first to combine nearly all known and readily assessed risk factors for hypoglycemia.
Many patients with diabetes, especially those with recurring episodes of low blood sugar, are unaware when it occurs, despite the risk of serious adverse events including cognitive impairment, coma and death. Being able to identify patients at high risk may provide an opportunity to intervene and prevent hypoglycemia as well as long-term consequences.
Diabetes is one of the most common non-communicable diseases in the world. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that more than 30 million Americans had diabetes in 2015. Low blood sugar, known as hypoglycemia, occurs in 20 to 60 percent of patients with diabetes. It has substantial negative effects on a person’s mental and physical health, including the cardiovascular system.
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Image Credit: Regenstrief Institute
