Tight not always right for controlling diabetes

Studies suggest that the strategy of more blood glucose control could harm patients and that greater attention is needed on overall health.

By Victoria Stagg Elliott, AMNews staff. Posted May 4, 2009.

---

Tight control of blood glucose levels, the bedrock of diabetes care for some time, may not be the best option for all patients with the type 2 form of the disease. The burden of complex treatment regimens, risk of low blood glucose, possible weight gain and expense of reaching these goals may not always be worth it. In addition, hemoglobin A1c targets should be individualized, according to a review of recent studies in the June 2 Annals of Internal Medicine./.../