Abstract
Background: Hypoglycaemia is the most common acute complication of Diabetes Mellitus and often treatment-limiting, serious adverse effect of intensive diabetes therapy. Although it is preventable, hypoglycaemic episodes, especially if severe or recurrent may result in significant psychosocial dysfunction and lower quality of life. Aim: To determine the prevalence, frequency and timing of diabetes-related hypoglycaemia amongst persons with diabetes mellitus. Methods: This was a cross-sectional observational study involving patients attending the diabetes clinic and selected using systematic random sampling. An interviewer- administered questionnaire was used to obtain socio-demographic characteristics as well as experience of hypoglycaemia in the past 12months and severity graded. Data analysis was performed using SPSS 21.0, IBM SPSS Statistics, New York, USA Result: A total of 216 patients were recruited for the study. Eighty nine patients (41.2%) reported experiencing hypoglycaemia, out of which 46 (51.7%) occurred in the morning before breakfast and 16 (18.0%) experienced severe Hypoglycaemia. Skipped meal (58.4%) and overdose of GLA (31.5%) were the most common recognized causes of hypoglycaemia. Level 1 hypoglycaemia was the commonest grade of hypoglycaemia, while males and those on insulin alone had higher odds of having hypoglycaemia (P=0.059). Conclusion: The reported prevalence of hypoglycaemia amongst persons with diabetes mellitus within the last one year prior to the study was rather high which shows that hypoglycaemia is a common experience amongst type 2 diabetic undergoing management. Continuous patient education on the risks, causes, symptoms, and treatment of hypoglycaemia as well as self-monitoring of blood glucose is recommended for every person with diabetes at every health visits.
Highlights
Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a major health problem worldwide [1]
A total of 216 diabetic patients consisting of 86.1% outpatient and 97.2% T2DM patients participated in this study
[15] This reported figure aside being an incidence rate was for only severe hypoglycaemia which was defined as hypoglycaemia resulting in patients seeking medical attention or requiring hospital admission
Summary
Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a major health problem worldwide [1]. Studies have revealed a significant worldwide increase in the incidence and prevalence of diabetes [2,3,4,5,6], with the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) projecting that there will be an increase in persons with DM from 463 million in 2019 to 700 million by 2045 [1].Strict control of diabetes is increasingly emphasized after the benefits demonstrated in the UK Prospective Diabetes Study (UKPDS) and The Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT) studies in preventing complications [7, 8].Intensive therapy has been noted to effectively delay the onset and slow the progression of complications like diabetic retinopathy, nephropathy and neuropathy in patients with Type 1 diabetes [7, 8]. Hypoglycaemia is a very common complication and often “treatment-limiting” serious adverse effect of intensive diabetes therapy. Hypoglycaemic episodes, especially if severe or recurrent may result in increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, significant psychosocial dysfunction as well as reduced quality of life [9]. Hypoglycaemia is the most common acute complication of Diabetes Mellitus and often treatmentlimiting, serious adverse effect of intensive diabetes therapy. It is preventable, hypoglycaemic episodes, especially if severe or recurrent may result in significant psychosocial dysfunction and lower quality of life. Conclusion: The reported prevalence of hypoglycaemia amongst persons with diabetes mellitus within the last one year prior to the study was rather high which shows that hypoglycaemia is a common experience amongst type 2 diabetic undergoing management. Continuous patient education on the risks, causes, symptoms, and treatment of hypoglycaemia as well as self-monitoring of blood glucose is recommended for every person with diabetes at every health visits
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