How Low Is Too Low For Adults With Type 2 Diabetes?
The New England Journal of Medicine published two important studies in its June 12 issue that looked at the health benefits of lowering blood sugar to near-normal levels in people with type 2 diabetes whose blood sugar was already controlled to the goal set by current diabetes guidelines. The first study, called the ACCORD trial, found that a group of people who received intensive treatment to lower blood glucose (sugar) below current recommendations unexpectedly had more deaths than a group of people who received treatment based on current diabetes care guidelines. The second study, called the ADVANCE trial, found that extremely tight blood sugar control (as compared to usual practice) had very little effect on the rate of heart or stroke complications and no measurable effect on survival. There was, however, a 21% lower rate of kidney disease in the intensively treated group. Both of these studies were large and carefully designed. Because of worrisome early results, part of the ACCO
