Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is life threatening, but preventable. It was good news that between 2000-2009, rates of DKA began to decline, but researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) say it is “concerning” to find that those rates began to reverse between 2009-2014 , increasing 54.9%. All age groups saw an increase of ≥ 6% annually. The highest rates were among people aged < 45 years: approximately 27 times higher than among people aged > 65 years.
The causes for the reversal are not clear, the researchers say, but they offer several possibilities, including changes in case definition, new medications that might raise the risk of DKA, and higher admission rates for people with less serious disease.
Because DKA rates were highest among people aged > 45 years, the researchers say information from studies in that age group might help determine whether prevention strategies should focus on factors such as symptom recognition, adherence to treatment, self-management skills, access to care, or cost of treatment.