Diabetes Dateline
Summer 2010

New Analysis of Data from the ACCORD Blood Glucose Trial

A new analysis of the Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes (ACCORD) blood glucose trial data was published in the May 2010 issue of Diabetes Care. This new analysis may help explain why ACCORD trial participants in the intensive glucose treatment group had a higher risk of death than participants in the standard treatment group. The analysis revealed that the higher risk of death in the intensive blood glucose control group occurred in a subgroup of participants who could not achieve the A1C target of below 6 percent. The authors suggest that the increased risk of death was due to factors associated with failure to reach near-normal A1C levels despite intensive glucose lowering treatment.

Initial trial results were reported in The New England Journal of Medicine in June 2008, after researchers halted the intensive blood glucose control group of the trial due to the higher mortality rate in that group. In early analysis, the researchers concluded that blood glucose control should be tailored to the needs of each individual. Less intensive control may be appropriate for certain patients with complicating health issues, whereas intensive control may be more appropriate for patients who are recently diagnosed and have a long life-expectancy.

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NIH Publication No. 10–4562
August 2010