Severe Hypoglycemia as a Predictor of End-Stage Renal Disease in Type 2 Diabetes

Aims: This study investigated whether there is a link between severe hypoglycemia and progression into end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in patients with type 2 diabetes. Methods: Tapping into Taiwan's Health Insurance Research Database, we identified all type 2 diabetes patients between 1996 and 2013 and identified those diagnosed with a severe hypoglycemia episode during an emergency department visit and those who were not. Controls were then matched 1:1 for age, sex, index year, and medication. Results: We identified 468,421 type 2 diabetes patients diagnosed as having severe hypoglycemia in an emergency department visit. Compared with controls, these patients with SH had a higher risk of all-cause mortality (Hazard Ratio (HR), 1.76; 95% confidence interval, 1.61−1.94) and progressed into ESRD within a shorter period of time. Results were similar after controlling for competing risk. Conclusion: Severe hypoglycemia is significantly associated with worsening renal dysfunction in patients with type 2 diabetes and hastened progression into ESRD

Body mass index · Cohort · Cohort study · Confidence interval · Diabetes mellitus · Disease · Emergency department · End stage renal disease · Hazard ratio · Hypoglycemia · Psychiatry · Type 1 diabetes · Type 2 diabetes · Diabetes Management and Research · Diabetes Treatment and Management · Hyperglycemia and glycemic control in critically ill and hospitalized patients · Medicine · Endocrinology · Internal Medicine · Pediatrics