Older Diabetics with Complications at Higher Fall Risk

Older individuals suffering from complications of type 2 diabetes are at increased risk of falling, researchers found.

Ann V. Schwartz, PhD, of the University of California in San Francisco, and her colleagues studied 446 type 2 diabetics with a mean age 73.6 years. The average follow-up was about five years.

Higher cystatin-C levels (a marker of decreased renal function), reduced peroneal nerve response magnitude, and poorer contrast sensitivity increased the risk of falling, investigators reported in Diabetes Care (2008;31:391-396). Insulin users with tight blood glucose control (hemoglobin A_1c of 6% or below) also were at increased risk.

Achieving lower HbA_1c levels with oral hypoglycemic agents was not associated with more frequent falls.