10-LB: Psychosocial Impact of Severe Hypoglycemia and Perceptions of Nasal Glucagon in Young Adults with Type 1 Diabetes

Abstract

Experiences of a severe hypoglycemic event (SHE) , although infrequent occurrences, may interfere with engaging in social activities and increase distress. Previous work in parents suggests having nasal glucagon (NG) - a ready-to-use rescue agent for SHE - alleviates some of these psychosocial concerns. To examine whether young adults also perceived psychosocial benefits from NG, we recruited individuals aged 18-26 with T1D for an online survey. Participants rated the perceived impact of possible SHEs on fully engaging in social activities and distress (‘strongly disagree’ to ‘strongly agree’) and perceived changes since starting NG (‘worsened a great deal’ to ‘improved a great deal’) . Participants then answered questions about preparedness and protection using a validated measure to compare perceptions of NG to a glucagon kit requiring reconstitution. The final sample included 364 young adults (Meanage = 21.6 years; 73.6% female; MeanHbA1c = 7.1%) . Roughly one third of participants (35.4%) agreed/strongly agreed that possible SHEs limited their engagement in social activities. Most participants (63.7%) agreed/strongly agreed that treating a SHE was distressing. Since having NG, 30.9% of participants reported their freedom to engage in social activities improved/greatly improved and 67.4% reported no change. Of those who reported some amount of distress about SHEs (n = 326) , 49.7% reported their distress improved/greatly improved (i.e., reduced) and 48.8% of participants reported no change. Participants reported greater positive perceptions of Preparedness/Protection with NG (Median = 5.9, IQR = 5.1-6.3) compared to the glucagon kit requiring reconstitution (Median = 4, IQR = 3-4.9) as analyzed with a Wilcoxon signed rank test (p < .001) . Our results suggest that NG may provide meaningful psychosocial benefits for young adults, which could be especially important as they navigate this transitional age for diabetes management. Disclosure C. S. Kelly: None. H. Nguyen: None. W. Luo: Other Relationship; Lilly, Sanofi. K. S. M. Chapman: None. J. Poon: Employee; Eli Lilly and Company. Stock/Shareholder; Eli Lilly and Company. L. A. Baker: None. W. Wolf: None. M. Perez-Nieves: Employee; Eli Lilly and Company. Stock/Shareholder; Eli Lilly and Company. B. Mitchell: Employee; Eli Lilly and Company. Stock/Shareholder; Eli Lilly and Company. Funding Eli Lilly and Company