Treating type 2 diabetes in elderly people may do more harm than good, study finds

Drugs to reduce blood sugar levels can do more harm than good in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes, a study has reported.

Researchers from University College London and the University of Michigan in the United States used data from the UK Prospective Diabetes Study, a 20 year study of type 2 diabetes treatments involving more than 5000 people in the United Kingdom. They modelled the net gains or losses to quality of life associated with treatments for lower blood sugar and calculated additional impacts on quality of life from published medical evidence on the burden, safety, and efficacy of different treatments.

Specifically, the researchers looked at the effectiveness of diabetes treatments …