Background : There is a lack of real‐life data regarding the frequency and predictive factors of hypoglycemia in older patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D). This study aimed to determine the frequency and predictors of hypoglycemia in older patients with insulin‐treated T2D.
Methods : This prospective multicenter study included 155 insulin‐treated T2D patients aged 75 years and older with ≥2 self‐monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) daily controls. Participants underwent a geriatric and diabetic assessment and received ambulatory blinded continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) for 28 consecutive days with FreeStyle Libre Pro® sensor. Study population ( n = 141) has >70% CGM active time. Multivariable logistic regressions were used to identify factors associated with SMBG confirmed hypoglycemia (≥70 mg/dL) and with nocturnal level 2 time below range (glucose concentration <54 mg/dL during ≥15 consecutive min between 0.00 and 6.00 am).
Results : The mean age of the 141 analyzed patients was 81.5 ± 5.3 years and 56.7% were male. The mean baseline HbA 1c was 7.9% ± 1.0%. After geriatric assessment, 102 participants (72.3%) were considered as complex and 39 (27.7%) as healthy. The primary endpoint (confirmed SMBG <70 mg/dL) occurred in 37.6% patients. In multivariable analysis, the risk of SMBG‐confirmed hypoglycemia was positively associated with a longer duration of diabetes (OR (+1 year) =1.04, (1.00–1.08), p = 0.04) and glycemic variability assessed by CGM (CV %) (OR (+1%) = 1.12, [1.05–1.19], p = <0.001). Nighty‐two patients (65.2%) experienced nocturnal time in hypoglycemia (i.e., <54 mg/dL during ≥15 consecutive min between midnight and 6 a.m.). In multivariable analyses, cognitive impairment (OR: 9.31 [2.59–33.4]), heart failure (OR: 4.81 [1;48–15.6]), and depressive disorder (OR: 0.19 [0.06–0.53]) were associated with nocturnal time in hypoglycemia.
Conclusion : Nocturnal hypoglycemia is very common and largely underdiagnosed in older patients with insulin‐treated T2D. CGM is a promising tool to better identify hypoglycemia and adapt diabetes management in this population.