High Blood Sugar May Signal Increased Risk Of Mortality

First Posted: Jan 07, 2015 01:41 PM EST
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High blood sugar may be a symptom of increased risk of diabetes, need for hospitalization and even mortality, in more severe cases, according to recent findings published in the European Heart Journal.

"Our findings suggest that the measurement of blood sugar levels in all patients arriving at emergency departments with acute heart failure could provide doctors with useful prognostic information and could help to improve outcomes in these patients," said study leader Dr. Douglas Lee, in journal news release, who is also a scientist at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences and an associate professor of medicine at the University of Toronto.

For the study, researchers examined data on more than 16,500 seniors who were treated for acute heart failure. All participants were between the ages of 70 and 85 and hospitalized in Ontario, Canada between 2004 and 2007.

"Among patients without pre-existing diabetes, the majority (51 percent) had blood glucose levels on arrival at hospital that were within 'normal' limits but greater than 6.1 millimoles per liter (mmol/L)," Lee added, via WebMD. In the United States, that reading is equivalent to about 110 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL).

For patients with no prior diagnosis, findings revealed that the risk of death within a month was 26 percent higher among patients with slightly elevated blood sugar levels when compared to those with normal blood sugar levels. Furthermore, those with blood sugar levels were nearly high enough to meet the criteria for diabetes diagnosis had a 50 percent higher risk of death within a month when compared to those with normal blood sugar levels.

Those with pre-existing diabetes were also more likely to die within a month if their blood sugar levels were above 11.1 mmol/L (200 mg/dL) when they arrived at the emergency department. They were also more likely to be hospitalized for diabetes-related complications if their blood sugar levels were higher than normal, findings showed.

Those with or without pre-existing diabetes had a greater risk of hospitalization for heart failure or cardiovascular problems, as well, if their blood sugar levels were elevated above normal.

"Our results suggest that all such patients should undergo further testing for diabetes before discharge. If the hospital tests show that their fasting blood glucose is not elevated, then they should be monitored subsequently for the development of diabetes as outpatients," Lee concluded.

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