New risk and protective factors for severe hypoglycaemia in people with type 1 diabetes

To evaluate risk factors for severe hypoglycaemia (SH) in patients with type 1 diabetes (T1DM).

Retrospective observational and comparative study. All SH occurring between 2007 and 2014 in a German population (Lippe-Detmold) were captured. Characteristics of patients with T1DM and SH were compared with a control group being equivalent concerning age, diabetes duration, HbA1c, comorbidity, and β-blocker treatment. SH was defined as a symptomatic event requiring treatment with intravenous glucose or glucagon administration and being confirmed by a blood glucose measurement of <2.8 mmol/l. Predictive factors for SH were analysed by a multivariable regression model. As many as 405 cases of SH in T1DM occurred in 206 subjects; 50% of episodes were related to 31 patients who experienced ≥3 SH. Need for nursing care (OR 4.88), treatment with NPH (OR 3.68), and impaired hypoglycaemia awareness (OR 2.06) were the strongest risk factors for SH (all p < 0.05, all p_FDR-adjusted < 0.10; false discovery rate (FDR)). Depression (OR 0.14), treatment with CSII (OR 0.39) and short-acting insulin analogues (OR 0.31) appeared to be protective (all p < 0.10; FDR-adjusted). The probability of SH onset was significantly higher in patients who had previously experienced recurrent SH episodes. β-Blocker treatment did not appear to be a risk factor.

The complex risk for SH in people with T1DM can be reduced by treatment with CSII and short-acting analogues. Future structures of diabetes care will be challenged by the need of treating increasingly geriatric subjects with T1DM having a high risk of SH.