Hypoglycemic and Hyperglycemic Crises Among U.S. Adults With Diabetes and End-stage Kidney Disease: Population-Based Study, 2013–2017
Design: Nationwide, retrospective study of adults (≥18 years) with DM/ESKD, from the United States Renal Data System registry, 2013 to 2017. Primary outcome was annual rates of emergency department visits or hospitalizations for hypoglycemic and hyperglycemic crises, reported as number of events/1000 person-years. Adjusted event rates and risk factors were adjusted for patient age, sex, race/ethnicity, dialysis modality, comorbidities, treatment regimen and U.S. region.
Results: Among 521,789 adults with DM/ESKD (median age 65 years [IQR 57-73], 56.1% male, and 46% White), overall adjusted rates of hypoglycemic and hyperglycemic crises were 53.64 and 18.24 per 1000 person-years, respectively. For both hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia crises, the risks decreased with age and were lowest in older patients (≥75 vs 18-44 years: IRR 0.35 [95% CI 0.33-0.37] and 0.03 [0.02-0.03], women (IRR 1.09 [1.06-1.12] and 1.44 [1.35-1.54]), and with smoking (IRR 1.36 [1.28-1.43] and 1.71 [1.53-1.91]), substance abuse (IRR 1.27 [1.15-1.42] and 1.53 [1.23-1.9]), retinopathy (IRR 1.10 [1.06-1.15] and 1.36 [1.26-1.47]), and insulin therapy (vs. no therapy; IRR 0.60 [0.59-0.63] and 0.44 [0.39-0.48]), respectively. For hypoglycemia, specifically, additional risk was conferred by Black race (IRR 1.11 [1.08-1.15]) and amputation history (IRR 1.20 [1.13-1.27]).
Conclusions: In this nationwide study of patients with DM/ESKD, hypoglycemic crises were three-fold more common than hyperglycemic crises, greatly exceeding national reports in non-dialysis patients with chronic kidney disease. Young, Black, and female patients were disproportionately affected.
