Accelerated decline of renal function in type 2 diabetes following severe hypoglycemia

This study aimed to evaluate whether the pronounced elevation in blood pressure during severe hypoglycemia is associated with subsequent renal insufficiency.

We conducted a 3-year cohort study to assess the clinical course of renal function in type 2 diabetes patients with or without blood pressure surge during severe hypoglycemia.

Of 111 type 2 diabetes patients with severe hypoglycemia, 76 exhibited an extremely high systolic blood pressure before treatment, whereas 35 demonstrated no such increase (179.1 ± 27.7 mmHg vs. 131.1 ± 20.2 mmHg, P<0.001). At 12h after treatment, systolic blood pressure did not differ significantly (131.5 ± 30.7 mmHg vs. 123.5 ± 20.7 mmHg; P=0.39). The estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) before and at the time of severe hypoglycemia did not significantly differ between both groups. A multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analysis revealed that blood pressure surge during severe hypoglycemia was independently associated with a composite outcome of a more than 15 mL/min/1.73 m(2) decrease in the estimated GFR and initiation of chronic dialysis (hazard ratio, 2.68; 95% confidence interval, 1.12-6.38; P=0.02).

Renal function after severe hypoglycemia was significantly worse in type 2 diabetes patients with blood pressure surge during severe hypoglycemia than those without blood pressure surge.