Low blood sugar increases mortality risk in hospitalized patients

A new study has found that hospitalized patients with low blood sugar have an increased mortality risk. The study included nearly 3,000 patients with low blood sugar, of which nearly 32 percent died by the end of the follow-up period.

Among patients with moderately low blood sugar, those who were taking insulin were more likely to die, compared to those who were not on insulin. For those with severe low blood sugar, the risk of death was the same in both groups.
Senior study author Dr. Amit Akirov explained, “Hypoglycemia is common among hospitalized patients with and without diabetes mellitus. Our findings suggest that hypoglycemia, whether insulin-related or non-insulin related, is associated with short- and long-term mortality risk. These data are a timely reminder that hypoglycemia of any cause carries the association with increased mortality.”