Odd, it seems the (almost all?) reference links to the ACCORD study are no longer. I did find the following.
http://stanfeld.com/is-evidence-based-medicine-based-medicine-the-holy-grail/
“The Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes (ACCORD) study was abruptly halted in 2008 when researchers noticed an increase in deaths in the group of Type 2 diabetics being intensively treated to bring their blood sugar levels down to near-normal levels.”
Termination of the study received wide coverage by the traditional media. No one critiqued the design of the study or the reasons for its statistical outcome.
Two years later the investigators have realized the errors in the study.
“ A new analysis of data from that study has concluded that a rapid lowering of blood sugar (glucose) levels was not the cause of the increased risk of mortality.
However, even though the researchers were able to exclude intensive diabetes management from their list of suspects, they still aren’t clear what factors may have played a role.”
I applaud study author Dr. Matthew Riddle, a professor of medicine at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, for further analyzing the data.
“The original question underlying the study was, would rapid lowering of blood glucose be an explanation for the excess mortality rates?”
“The answer was no. People who rapidly lowered their A1c didn’t have excess deaths,” Riddle said. In fact, “it was the ones who couldn’t bring their A1c’s down that had increased mortality.”