Visual Abstract
Hyperglycemic emergencies are life-threatening acute complications of diabetes. Efforts to prevent these events on the population level are hindered by inability to proactively identify those at highest risk. In this retrospective analysis of claims data of adults with type 1 and type 2 diabetes from OptumLabs Data Warehouse between 2014 and 2019, we calculated the adjusted (for age, sex, race/ethnicity, U.S. region) rates of hyperglycemic emergencies and examined their association with sociodemographic (age, sex, race/ethnicity, income), clinical (comorbidities), and treatment (diabetes medications, HbA1c level) factors using negative binomial regression.
Among 16,621 adults with type 1 diabetes (age 46.7 [SD, 16.5] years, 48.9% female, 74.6% White) and 615,371 with type 2 diabetes (age 65.5 [SD, 11.9] years, 50.1% female, 56.4% White), adjusted rates of hyperglycemic emergencies were 47.8 (95% CI 43.9-52.0) and 3.7 (95% CI 3.5-3.8) per 1000 person-years, respectively. Table shows model results.
Younger age, lower income, higher HbA1c, prior hyperglycemic and hypoglycemic emergencies, and presence of comorbidities (especially in type 2 diabetes) were associated with heightened risk of hyperglycemic emergencies. Event rates in type 2 diabetes increased over time. Proactive engagement of at-risk patients to address hyperglycemia may prevent these dangerous events.
R. G. Mccoy: None. K. Swarna: None. R. J. Galindo: Consultant; Self; Abbott Diabetes, Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH, Eli Lilly and Company, Novo Nordisk, Sanofi US, Valeritas, Inc., Research Support; Self; Dexcom, Inc., Novo Nordisk. H. Van houten: None. P. J. O’connor: None. N. Shah: None.
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (K23DK114497)
