Novo Nordisk announced new analyses from the multinational, double-blinded DEVOTE trial showing that people with type 2 diabetes who experience severe hypoglycemia (low blood sugar levels) are at greater risk of death. The risk was four-fold higher 15 days after an event and two and a half-fold higher anytime following an episode of severe hypoglycemia.
In addition, results also showed that daily fluctuations in blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes are associated with a higher risk of death. The results were presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes 53rd Annual Meeting (EASD) and simultaneously published in Diabetologia.
“Episodes of severe hypoglycemia are not only distressing for patients and potentially dangerous, they are also associated with an increased risk of death,” said Dr. Bernard Zinman of the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital, University of Toronto, Canada and member of the DEVOTE Steering Committee.
“These results highlight the importance of maintaining low variability in blood sugar levels and reducing the risk of severe hypoglycemia when treating people with type 2 diabetes.”
In the DEVOTE trial, Tresiba® (insulin degludec) reduced the rate of severe hypoglycemia by 40% and the rate of nocturnal severe hypoglycemia by 53% compared to insulin glargine U100 in people with type 2 diabetes. Similar reductions were seen in the SWITCH 2 trial with 51% lower rates of severe hypoglycemia during the full treatment period of the trial and a 42% reduction in the rate of nocturnal hypoglycemia compared to insulin glargine U100 in people with type 2 diabetes.
Studies have also shown that Tresiba® provides significantly lower variability in blood sugar levels compared to insulin glargine U100 and U300.
