Screening for Type 2 Diabetes > Effectiveness/Harms of Early Treatment Author: Lorraine Lipscombe, MD, FRCPC; Denice S. Feig, MD, MSc, FRCPC
Editorial changes - 2009-05-01
Author information and module status
Key Points
Population at Risk
Effectiveness/Harms of Screening Tests
Effectiveness/Harms of Early Treatment
Direct Evidence that Screening Reduces Adverse Outcomes
Timeline
Cost-Effectiveness
Patient Education
Referral/Consultation
Guidelines
Tables
References
Glossary
What's New
Patient Information
Additional Resources
Tools
Recommendation
Know that there is limited evidence regarding the harms of early treatment in patients with diabetes diagnosed through screening, but the recommended treatments have been shown to be safe in those diagnosed clinically.B

Evidence:

  • Treatment of hyperglycemia with oral hypoglycemic agents or insulin may lead to hypoglycemia; however, episodes of severe hypoglycemia are infrequent (2.3% of patients on insulin and 0.6% of patients on oral agents) (77).
  • ACE inhibitors have fewer side effects than most antihypertensive agents and are associated with high rates of adherence. The most common dose-related side effect, a reversible cough, occurs in 5% to 20% of patients (131).
  • Statins and fibrates also have low rates of serious adverse effects (132; 133).
  • There is little evidence regarding the nonmedical harms of early diabetes treatment except one study that showed no effect on quality of life in diabetes patients 1 year after they were diagnosed through screening (71).

Comments:

  • None.

FAQs
Denice S. Feig, MD, MSc, FRCPC has no financial relationships with pharmaceutical companies, biomedical device manufacturers, or health-care related organizations. Lorraine Lipscombe, MD, FRCPC has no financial relationships with pharmaceutical companies, biomedical device manufacturers, or health-care related organizations. Sonal Singh, MD, editorial consultant, has no financial relationships with pharmaceutical companies, biomedical device manufacturers, or health-care related organizations.
Steven E. Weinberger, MD, FACP, Acting Editor, PIER, has stock holdings in Glaxosmithkline and Abbott.

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