Table 1. Baseline Characteristics of Participants.
| Characteristic | Participants, No. (%) | P value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No hypoglycemia (n = 1 901 446) | Severe hypoglycemia (n = 45 135) | ||
| Demographic parameters | |||
| Age, mean (SD), y | 57.2 (12.3) | 67.9 (9.9) | <.001 |
| Men | 1 104 968 (58.1) | 20 219 (44.8) | <.001 |
| Women | 796 478 (41.9) | 24 916 (55.2) | |
| Height, mean (SD), cm | 162.1 (9.2) | 157.5 (9.1) | <.001 |
| Weight, mean (SD), kg | 66.2 (11.7) | 60.1 (10.4) | <.001 |
| BMI, mean (SD) | 25.1 (3.4) | 24.2 (3.5) | <.001 |
| Waist circumference, mean (SD), cm | 85.2 (8.6) | 84.8 (8.9) | <.001 |
| BP, mean (SD), mmHg | |||
| Systolic | 128.9 (15.7) | 130.9 (17.3) | <.001 |
| Diastolic | 79.0 (10.1) | 77.7 (10.5) | <.001 |
| Current smoking | 465 293 (24.5) | 7236 (16.0) | <.001 |
| Current alcohol use | 758 761 (39.9) | 9543 (21.1) | <.001 |
| Physically active | 916 430 (48.2) | 15 406 (34.1) | <.001 |
| Low socioeconomic status | 515 189 (27.1) | 12 841 (28.5) | <.001 |
| Laboratory parameters, mean (SD) | |||
| Fasting glucose, mg/dL | 143.5 (43.0) | 141.0 (56.7) | <.001 |
| Total cholesterol, mg/dL | 197.8 (41.9) | 189.8 (43.8) | <.001 |
| Triglycerides, mg/dL | 174.5 (117.5) | 163.0 (104.1) | <.001 |
| HDL-C, mg/dL | 51.3 (16.6) | 50.4 (20.0) | <.001 |
| LDL-C, mg/dL | 113.0 (37.6) | 107.8 (38.3) | <.001 |
| AST, IU/L | 27.9 (17.3) | 26.1 (17.5) | <.001 |
| ALT, IU/L | 30.5 (23.2) | 24.5 (18.2) | <.001 |
| GGT, IU/L | 48.5 (64.0) | 42.2 (72.7) | <.001 |
| Creatinine, mg/dL | 1.0 (0.7) | 1.1 (0.8) | <.001 |
| eGFR, mL/min/1.73 m2 | 85.1 (35.3) | 73.1 (35.8) | <.001 |
| Comorbidities | |||
| Hypertension | 1 054 443 (55.5) | 34 507 (76.5) | <.001 |
| Dyslipidemia | 798 915 (42.0) | 21 626 (47.9) | <.001 |
| Chronic kidney disease | 204 376 (10.8) | 15 359 (34.0) | <.001 |
| Cardiovascular disease | 89 642 (6.1) | 4395 (10.9) | <.001 |
| Antidiabetic drugs | |||
| Insulin | 132 442 (7.0) | 12 683 (28.1) | <.001 |
| Metformin | 850 459 (44.7) | 29 900 (66.3) | <.001 |
| Sulfonylurea | 764 336 (40.2) | 33 923 (75.2) | <.001 |
| Glinides | 38 432 (2.0) | 2742 (6.1) | <.001 |
| Thiazolidinedione | 116 254 (6.1) | 4809 (10.7) | <.001 |
| DPP4 inhibitor | 172 405 (9.1) | 4177 (9.3) | .17 |
Abbreviations: ALT, alanine aminotransferase; AST, aspartate aminotransferase; BMI, body mass index (calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared); BP, blood pressure; DPP4, dipeptidyl peptidase-4; eGFR, estimated glomerular filtration rate; GGT, γ-glutamyltransferase; HDL-C, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol; LDL-C, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol.
SI conversion factors: To convert ALT, AST, and GGT to microkatals per liter, multiply by 0.0167; creatinine to micromoles per liter, multiply by 88.4; glucose to millimoles per liter, multiply by 0.0555; HDL-C, LDL-C, and total cholesterol to millimoles per liter, multiply by 0.0259; and triglycerides to millimoles per liter, multiply by 0.0113.