To the content
4 . 2022

Fear of hypoglycemia: a new therapeutic target

Abstract

Fear of hypoglycemia (FOH) is a factor that significantly limits glycemic control in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) receiving insulin therapy. Pronounced FOH encourages patients to consume additional carbohydrates, maintain hyperglycemia, limit physical activity and social contacts, leading to a deterioration in the quality of life of patients with DM. Taking into account the variety of modern methods of glycemic correction and psychotherapeutic possibilities, FOH seems to be a modifiable factor. It seems relevant to study the causes of the formation of FOH and the effectiveness of various methods for its correction. High efficiency is demonstrated by patient education and some psychological techniques that can significantly reduce FOH. This review describes the mechanism of FOH formation and discusses various methods of fear correction in patients with DM receiving insulin therapy.

Keywords:type 1 diabetes mellitus; hypoglycemia; fear of hypoglycemia

Funding. The study had no sponsor support.

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

For citation: Chernaya M.E., Nersesyan A.A., Ostrouchova E.N., Volkova A.R. Fear of hypoglycemia: a new therapeutic target. Endokrinologiya: novosti, mneniya, obuchenie [Endocrinology: News, Opinions, Training]. 2022; 11 (4): 70–7. DOI: https://doi.org/10.33029/2304-9529-2022-11-4-70-77 (in Russian)

REFERENCES

1. Dedov I.I., Shestakova M.V., Vikulova O.K., Zheleznyakova A.V., Isakov M.А. Epidemiological characteristics of diabetes mellitus in the Russian Federation: clinical and statistical analysis according to the Federal diabetes register data of 01.01.2021. Sakharnyy diabet [Diabetes Mellitus]. 2021; 24 (3): 204–21. DOI: https://doi.org/10.14341/DM12759 (in Russian)

2. Wu F.L., Wu E.C., Chang Y.C., Hu W.Y., Juang J.H., Yeh M.C. Factors affecting the ability of people with diabetes to avoid hypoglycemia. J Nurs Res. 2018; 26 (1): 44–51. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/JNR.0000000000000198; PMID: 28079649.

3. Cryer P.E. Glycemic goals in diabetes: trade-off between glycemic control and iatrogenic hypoglycemia. Diabetes. 2014; 63 (7): 2188–95. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2337/db14-0059; PMID: 24962915.

4. Liu J., Bispham J., Fan L., Poon J.L., Hughes A., Mcauliffe-Fogarty A., et al. Factors associated with fear of hypoglycaemia among the T1D Exchange Glu population in a cross-sectional online survey. BMJ Open. 2020; 10 (9): e038462. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-038462; PMID: 32895285.

5. Halliday J.A., Speight J., Bennet A., Beeney L.J., Hendrieckx C. The diabetes and emotional health handbook and toolkit for health professionals supporting adults with type 1 and type 2 diabetes: formative evaluation. JMIR Form Res. 2020; 4 (2): e15007. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2196/15007; PMID: 32130112.

6. Starostina E.G., Moshnyaga E.N. Fear of hypoglycemia and its clinical significance: a case-control study. Sakharnyy diabet [Diabetes Mellitus]. 2013; 16 (3): 46–51. (in Russian)

7. Gonder-Frederick L.A. Fear of hypoglycemia: a review. Diabetic Hypoglycemia. 2013; 5 (3): 3–11.

8. Volkova A.R., Chernaya M.E., Mozgunova V.S. Contribution of glycemic variability and fear of hypoglycemic conditions to the control of type 1 diabetes mellitus. RMZh. Meditsinskoe obozrenie [RMJ. Medical review. 2020; 4 (6): 324–8. DOI: https://doi.org/10.32364/2587-6821-2020-4-6-324-328 (in Russian)

9. Martyn-Nemeth P., Quinn L., Penckofer S., Park C., Hofer V., Burke L. Fear of hypoglycemia: Influence on glycemic variability and self-management behavior in young adults with type 1 diabetes. J Diabetes Complications. 2017; 31 (4): 735–41. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdiacomp.2016.12.015

10. Rossi M.C., Nicolucci A., Ozzello A., Gentile S., Aglialoro A., Chiambretti A., et al.; HYPOS-1 Study Group of AMD. Impact of severe and symptomatic hypoglycemia on quality of life and fear of hypoglycemia in type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Results of the Hypos-1 observational study. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2019; 29 (7): 736–43. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.numecd.2019.04.009; PMID: 31153746.

11. Chatwin H., Broadley M., Valdersdorf Jensen M., Hendrieckx C., Carlton J., Heller S., et al. ‘Never again will I be carefree’: a qualitative study of the impact of hypoglycemia on quality of life among adults with type 1 diabetes. BMJ Open Diabetes Res Care. 2021; 9 (1): e002322. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjdrc-2021-002322; PMID: 34400465.

12. Jensen M.V., Broadley M., Speight J., Chatwin H., Scope A., Cantrell A. et al.; of the Hypo-RESOLVE consortium. The impact of hypoglycaemia in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes on parental quality of life and related outcomes: A systematic review. Pediatr Diabetes. 2022; 23 (3): 390–405. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/pedi.13308. PMID: 34981624.

All articles in our journal are distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0 license)

CHIEF EDITOR
CHIEF EDITOR
Ametov Alexander S.
Honored Scientist of the Russian Federation, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor, Head of Subdepartment of Endocrinology, Head of the UNESCO Network Chair on the subject «Bioethics of diabetes as a global problem» of the Russian Medical Academy of Continuous Professional Education (Moscow)
Вскрытие

Journals of «GEOTAR-Media»