What a coincidence.

It is not clear what is going on. Perhaps the cholesterol drugs were a factor, and just not mentioned in the article.

In this lesson is a reference to the EPIC-Norfolk study in Europe which suggested that A1c levels below 6 were a good target for death reduction.

It appears in the ACCORD study that the aggressive portion of glucose control was targeting that range. Typically in US the target is below 7, not 6.

I'll continue to look around...it might show up on PubMed, or a later article in more detail. NYTimes might do an in depth study, and expose more detail.

Diabetes drugs are not 100% innocuous either. Metformin can cause acidosis, and Avandia has shown some connection to death from heart disease. Diabetics have inflammatory vascular problems as well, which also might be a factor. I wonder if any of these people were tested for B12 levels, or other nutritional support? Obviously you Mel never were told to use B12 and you only do so because of this forum.

There were deaths in the HERS study on hormone replacement therapy, that study was ended early as well. Women were dying on estrogen. And developing dementia.

It looks like a complex situation. I predict there is not one clear answer to it.

Also, aggressive blood sugar control, can lead to hypoglycemia during the night. It would be interesting if these
subjects died at night. If blood glucose goes below 30 and the person is unconscious, they could easily die.