10 years on average before the study began. Their average age was around 60, and the study group was nearly all men.
So it’s not yet clear what the results might be if a blood sugar-lowering intervention was started soon after diagnosis with type 2 diabetes. It’s also not known if these findings apply to people with type 1 diabetes.
The initial phase of the study included almost 1,800 people. They were randomly selected to receive either standard diabetes treatment or intensive blood sugar-lowering treatment.
Both groups received the same medications. The difference was in the dosing. People in the intensive group were given enough medication to lower their hemoglobin A1C levels below 7%. Hemoglobin A1C is a blood test that provides an estimate of average blood sugar levels.
An A1C of under 5.9% is considered normal. Researchers aimed to get the intensive
