Hypoglycemia Increases for Older Diabetics

Rates of heart disease, strokes and limb amputations are down sharply among older adults with diabetes today, compared with the 1990s, a study finds. But now hypoglycemia (episodes of low blood sugar) is one of the top problems for this group. Researchers said doctors may need to adjust drug doses as people get older in order to prevent low blood sugar. The study included more than 72,000 adults age 60 or older. They were all patients of the same managed care system. Cases of heart and blood vessel disease increased with age, and with how long people had diabetes. Overall, though, heart problems were only about one-seventh as common as another study found in the 1990s. Dangerous levels of high blood sugar and amputations also declined. But in the new study, low blood sugar became a more common problem among those who had diabetes longer.