Fear of hypoglycemia and its clinical significance: a case-control study

Abstract

Aim.
To assess the prevalence of fear of hypoglycemia, its clinical features and influence on diabetes compensation.
Materials and Methods.
A cross-sectional study was conducted with 200 sequentially enrolled participants with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM; n=139) and type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM; n=61). Patients were screened for psychiatric disorders with appropriate inventory and examined by a psychiatrist. Subjects identified as those with fear of hypoglycemia (n=12) formed the study group, while control group was assembled of individuals without phobic signs, matched for gender, age, type and duration of diabetes and concomitant psychiatric disorders.
Results.
Prevalence of fear of hypoglycemia was estimated at 6%, being consistently higher in patients with T1DM (16.1%) vs. T2DM (1%; p=0.0002). Fear of hypoglycemia was associated with higher median HbA_1c (9.4% [8.6 ; 9.9] vs. 8.2% [6.8 ; 9.3], p<0.05). These findings are in agreement with considerably higher prevalence of proliferative retinopathy (33%) observed in study group (0% in control group, p<0.05). Phobic patients with T1DM had higher occurrence of ketoacidosis (41.7% of subjects, 7 cases) than control subjects (16.6% of subjects, 2 cases). Similar trend was observed for severe hypoglycemic events. There was no significant difference between the groups in sensitivity to hypoglycemia, cognitive functions, educational level or social status. Patients with fear of hypoglycemia tend to regard hypoglycemia as primary, highly hazardous challenge of diabetes mellitus and perceive its symptoms as ?extremely unpleasant?. However, in this study phobic patients maintained the same level of self-monitoring as their control counterparts and demonstrated comparable knowledge of the causes of hypoglycemia. None of the participants reported a habit of carrying carbohydrates for hypoglycemia management.
Conclusion.
Fear of hypoglycemia is highly prevalent among patients with T1DM and is often associated with poor diabetes compensation, glycemic instability and higher risk for diabetic macroangiopathy. Attitude to hypoglycemia in such patients resembles idee fixe phenomenon with pathologically accentuated somatic perception of hypoglycemia and exaggeration of associated health hazards. Patients with fear of hypoglycemia tend to develop avoidance behaviour regarding diabetes mellitus that, combined with lower compliance for prevention of hypoglycemia, worsens clinical prognosis.