medwireNews: Researchers have reported that around one in 10 patients with insulin-dependent type 2 diabetes have impaired hypoglycemia awareness.
This makes it “relatively common,” Lian van Meijel (Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, the Netherlands) told delegates at the ADA’s 78th Scientific Sessions in Orlando, Florida, although less so than in type 1 diabetes patients, who have a reported prevalence of about 25%.
Impaired hypoglycemia awareness was defined as a score of at least 3 on the modified Clarke questionnaire. Meijel’s team found that impaired awareness was not significantly associated with either glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels or the risk for severe hypoglycemia.
The findings emerged from an analysis of 1923 patients with insulin-treated type 2 diabetes identified in the Dutch Diabetes Pearl cohort. They were aged an average of 62.1 years, 58.5% were men, and the average diabetes duration was 13.9 years. Their average HbA1c was 7.6%.
Those with impaired hypoglycemia awareness were less likely than those without to be Caucasian and to be living with a partner, and they had a lower educational level. These factors, along with more cardiovascular disease and excessive polypharmacy, were also associated with severe hypoglycemia during the past year, which occurred in 33.3% of the cohort.
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