Table 2.
Frequency of deaths, total exposure and crude event rates by mean follow‐up HbA1c category
| Parameter | Lower (<7%) | Moderate (≥7% and <8.5%) | High (≥8.5% and <9.5%) | Very high (≥9.5%) | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metformin | |||||
| Number of deaths | 1708 | 928 | 49 | 34 | 2719 |
| Person‐years of exposure | 104 268 | 72 022 | 6666 | 3095 | 186 051 |
| Mean follow‐up, years | 2.88 | 2.24 | 1.25 | 1.02 | 2.42 |
| Crude event rate per 1000 person‐years (95% CI) | 16.4 (15.6‐17.2) | 12.9 (12.1‐13.7) | 7.4 (5.3‐9.4) | 11.0 (7.3‐14.7) | 14.6 (14.1‐15.2) |
| Crude rate ratio | 1.27 (1.17‐1.38) | 1 | 0.57 (0.42‐0.75) | 0.85 (0.6‐1.19) | |
| Sulphonylureas | |||||
| Number of deaths | 768 | 505 | 73 | 29 | 1375 |
| Person‐years of exposure | 12 564 | 11 899 | 2214 | 1147 | 27 823 |
| Mean follow‐up, years | 2.20 | 1.90 | 1.28 | 1.03 | 1.88 |
| Crude event rate per 1000 person‐years (95% CI) | 61.1 (56.8‐65.5) | 42.4 (38.7‐46.1) | 33.0 (25.4‐40.5) | 25.3 (16.1‐34.5) | 49.4 (46.8‐52) |
| Crude rate ratio | 1.44 (1.29‐1.61) | 1 | 0.78 (0.6‐0.99) | 0.60 (0.4‐0.85) | |
| Insulin | |||||
| Number of deaths | 182 | 389 | 170 | 108 | 849 |
| Person‐years of exposure | 2818 | 7847 | 3307 | 1898 | 15 870 |
| Mean follow‐up, years | 2.03 | 2.60 | 2.33 | 1.90 | 2.32 |
| Crude event rate per 1000 person‐years (95% CI) | 64.6 (55.2‐74) | 49.6 (44.6‐54.5) | 51.4 (43.7‐59.1) | 56.9 (46.2‐67.6) | 53.5 (49.9‐57.1) |
| Crude rate ratio | 1.30 (1.09‐1.55) | 1 | 1.04 (0.86‐1.24) | 1.15 (0.92‐1.42) | |
| Regimens with a low hypoglycaemia risk | |||||
| Number of deaths | 1928 | 1128 | 72 | 41 | 3169 |
| Person‐years of exposure | 125 054 | 93 951 | 10 006 | 4952 | 233 962 |
| Mean follow‐up, years | 2.81 | 2.14 | 1.21 | 0.97 | 2.30 |
| Crude event rate per 1000 person‐years (95% CI) | 15.4 (14.7‐16.1) | 12.0 (11.3‐12.7) | 7.2 (5.5‐8.9) | 8.3 (5.7‐10.8) | 13.5 (13.1‐14) |
| Crude rate ratio | 1.28 (1.19‐1.38) | 1 | 0.60 (0.47‐0.76) | 0.69 (0.5‐0.93) | |
| Regimens with a higher hypoglycaemia risk excluding insulin | |||||
| Number of deaths | 1280 | 959 | 138 | 64 | 2441 |
| Person‐years of exposure | 38 958 | 49 927 | 9691 | 4760 | 103 336 |
| Mean follow‐up, years | 2.23 | 2.17 | 1.60 | 1.32 | 2.06 |
| Crude event rate per 1000 person‐years (95% CI) | 32.9 (31.1‐34.7) | 19.2 (18‐20.4) | 14.2 (11.9‐16.6) | 13.4 (10.2‐16.7) | 23.6 (22.7‐24.6) |
| Crude rate ratio | 1.71 (1.57‐1.86) | 1 | 0.74 (0.62‐0.88) | 0.70 (0.54‐0.9) | |
| Regimens with a higher hypoglycaemia risk including insulin | |||||
| Number of deaths | 1504 | 1444 | 334 | 195 | 3477 |
| Person‐years of exposure | 44 597 | 68 873 | 17 828 | 9331 | 140 628 |
| Mean follow‐up, years | 2.21 | 2.27 | 1.87 | 1.57 | 2.13 |
| Crude event rate per 1000 person‐years (95% CI) | 33.7 (32‐35.4) | 21.0 (19.9‐22) | 18.7 (16.7‐20.7) | 20.9 (18‐23.8) | 24.7 (23.9‐25.5) |
| Crude rate ratio | 1.61 (1.5‐1.73) | 1 | 0.89 (0.79‐1.01) | 1.00 (0.86‐1.16) | |
Abbreviation: CI, confidence interval.