Living alone does not increase death, stroke, and MI risk in diabetes patients

China: Living alone does not increase the risk of hypoglycemia and cardiovascular events (cardiac death, non-fatal stroke, or non-fatal MI) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), claims a recent study in Frontiers in Public Health.

The patients living alone, however, had higher Hb1AC levels compared to those living with others. Therefore, effective blood sugar control should be considered regardless of the patient's living arrangements.

Previous studies have shown that living alone is associated with reduced social support. However, there is not much information on the relationship between living alone and cardiovascular events or hypoglycemia in T2DM patients. Zhaowei Zhu, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China, and colleagues report a post-hoc analysis of the "Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes (ACCORD)" study.

The team evaluated whether living alone increases the risk of hypoglycemia and CVD among patients with T2DM. The hazard ratios (HRs) for the adverse health events selected as primary endpoints in the study participants were compared using the Cox proportional hazard models; these were compared between those living alone and those living with others.

The primary outcomes included hypoglycemia requiring medical assistance (HMA), hypoglycemia requiring any assistance (HAA), and major cardiovascular events (MACEs, including cardiac death, non-fatal myocardial infarction (MI), and non-fatal stroke). 10,249 participants (2,078 living alone) were included in the study with a follow-up period of 4.91 ± 1.22 years.