Weinstock, Ruth S., DuBose, Stephanie N., Bergenstal, Richard M., Chaytor, Naomi S., Peterson, Christina, Olson, Beth A., Munshi, Medha N., Perrin, Alysa J. S., Miller, Kellee M., Beck, Roy W., Liljenquist, David R., Aleppo, Grazia, Buse, John B., Kruger, Davida, Bhargava, Anuj, Goland, Robin S., Edelen, Rachel C., Pratley, Richard E., Peters, Anne L., Rodriguez, Henry, Ahmann, Andrew J., Lock, John-Paul, Garg, Satish K., Rickels, Michael R., Hirsch, Irl B., T1D Exchange Severe Hypoglycemia O
funding text
Funding was provided by the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust. The nonprofit employer of R.M.B. has received grant funding from the National Institutes of Health and the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust. The nonprofit employer of N.S.C. has received grant funding from the National Institutes of Health.
abstract
OBJECTIVE Severe hypoglycemia is common in older adults with long-standing type 1 diabetes, but little is known about factors associated with its occurrence. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS A case-control study was conducted at 18 diabetes centers in the T1D Exchange Clinic Network. Participants were >= 60 years old with type 1 diabetes for >= 20 years. Case subjects (n = 101) had at least one severe hypoglycemic event in the prior 12 months. Control subjects (n = 100), frequency-matched to case subjects by age, had no severe hypoglycemia in the prior 3 years. Data were analyzed for cognitive and functional abilities, social support, depression, hypoglycemia unawareness, various aspects of diabetes management, C-peptide level, glycated hemoglobin level, and blinded continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) metrics. RESULTS Glycated hemoglobin (mean 7.8% vs. 7.7%) and CGM-measured mean glucose (175 vs. 175 mg/dL) were similar between case and control subjects. More case than control subjects had hypoglycemia unawareness: only 11% of case subjects compared with 43% of control subjects reported always having symptoms associated with low blood glucose levels (P < 0.001). Case subjects had greater glucose variability than control subjects (P = 0.008) and experienced CGM glucose levels < 60 mg/dL for >= 20 min on 46% of days compared with 33% of days in control subjects (P = 0.10). On certain cognitive tests, case subjects scored worse than control subjects. CONCLUSIONS In older adults with long-standing type 1 diabetes, greater hypoglycemia unawareness and glucose variability are associated with an increased risk of severe hypoglycemia. A study to assess interventions to prevent severe hypoglycemia in high-risk individuals is needed.