Severe Hypoglycemia May Increase Fall Risk in Older Adults With T2DM

A study in Diabetes Care has associated severe hypoglycemia with a markedly higher risk for falls among community-dwelling older adults with type 2 diabetes, reports Medical Xpress . The investigators identified 1,162 study participants with diagnosed diabetes at the fourth visit, and learned that 149 ever had a severe hypoglycemic event either before baseline or during the average of 13.1 years of follow-up. The rate of falls among those lacking hypoglycemia was 2.17 per 100 person-years compared to 8.81 per 100 person-years for individuals with severe hypoglycemia. Severe hypoglycemia was tied to a greater risk for falls in an adjusted analysis, and findings showed consistency when examining subgroups by age, sex, race, body mass index, duration of diabetes, or functional difficulty. "Fall risk should be considered when individualizing glycemic treatment in older adults," the authors recommend. "Assessing hypoglycemia history and future hypoglycemia risk could also improve multifactorial fall prevention interventions for older adults with diabetes."