Attitudes and practices related to hypoglycemia unawareness in patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes

Diabetes is considered one of the most prevalent endocrine metabolic diseases. Monitoring hypoglycemia unawareness is an important component of routine diabetes care and can identify patients at increased risk of a severe hypoglycaemic event. This study aimed to evaluate the frequency of hypoglycemia unawareness and identify the factors contributing to its occurrence. A sample of 390 patients diagnosed with type 1 and type 2 diabetes was interviewed in an endocrine and diabetes center in Al-Ahsa city. Sociodemographic data, risk factors, and Clarke scores were used to evaluate the impairment of hypoglycemia awareness. Reduced awareness of hypoglycemia was found in 93 patients (23.8%). There were no statistically significant differences in the age of the patients, mean age of diagnosis, or cumulative glucose level between patients with awareness and those with reduced awareness (P > 0.05). Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) showed significantly reduced awareness compared to type 1 diabetes (T1DM) (P = 0.038). Additionally, there were no statistically significant differences in hypoglycemia awareness between patients who underwent nephropathy screening and those who did not (P = 0.523). In conclusion, our study revealed reduced hypoglycemia awareness in 93 patients. However, there was no statistically significant difference related to various factors, including age and cumulative glucose levels. Patients with T2DM showed significantly lower hypoglycaemic awareness compared to patients with T1DM. Further research is needed to evaluate other factors of hypoglycemia unawareness.