Diabetes drug poses risk for elderly
Older patients treated for diabetes with thiazolidinediones had an increased risk of heart attack, congestive heart failure and death, a U.S. study found.
Dr. Lorraine L. Lipscombe of the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, in Toronto, and colleagues evaluated the risks of congestive heart failure, heart attack and death associated with the use of thiazolidinediones, compared with other oral hypoglycemic agents among 159,026 patients age 66 and older with diabetes.
The older patients have often been under represented in thiazolidinediones trials -- even though they have a higher prevalence of diabetes.
The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found users of thiazolidinediones monotherapy had a 60 percent increased risk of congestive heart failure; had a 40 percent increased risk of heart attack; and had a 29 percent increased risk of death compared to oral hypoglycemic agent combination therapy users.
"Further studies are needed to better quantify the risk-benefit tradeoffs associated with thiazolidinediones therapy and to explore whether the hazards associated with these agents are specific to rosiglitazone," the study authors said in a statement."
They said until then, treatment decisions must remain individualized, with doctors weighing potential benefits and harms. // Copyright 2007 by United Press International
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