Health
Diabetes control lowers cardiovascular risks
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Jan. 16, 2006
Intensive glucose control lowers the risk of heart disease and stroke by about 50% in people with type 1 diabetes, according to a study in the Dec. 22, 2005, New England Journal of Medicine. The findings are based on a follow-up study of patients who took part more than a decade ago in the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial.
"We see a greater reduction in cardiovascular events from intensive blood glucose control than from drugs that lower blood pressure and cholesterol," said Saul Genuth, MD, professor of medicine at Case Western University and chair of the follow-up study, Epidemiology of Diabetes Interventions and Complications.
"The benefits of intensive control strongly reinforce the message that this therapy should begin as early as possible and be maintained as long as possible," Dr. Genuth said.
During the original trial, which took place between 1983 and 1989, conventional treatment consisted of one or two insulin injections a day with daily urine or blood glucose testing. For the follow-up study, participants who were randomly assigned to intensive treatment were asked to keep glucose levels as close to normal as possible. That meant trying to keep hemoglobin A1c readings at 6% or less with at least three injections a day or with an insulin pump guided by frequent self-monitoring.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2006/01/16/hlbf0116.htm.
