Open AccessEvaluating the relationships of hypoglycaemia and HbA1c with screening‐detected diabetes distress in type 1 diabetes
Author(s) -
Todd Peter J.,
Edwards Faye,
Spratling Laura,
Patel Natasha H.,
Amiel Stephanie A.,
Sturt Jackie,
Choudhary Pratik
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2398-9238
DOI - 10.1002/edm2.3
Subject(s) - diabetes mellitus , distress , type 2 diabetes , medicine , hypoglycemia , type 1 diabetes , continuous glucose monitoring , endocrinology , clinical psychology
Summary Aims To explore the relationship between diabetes distress, glucose control and awareness of hypoglycaemia in adults with type 1 diabetes. Methods We performed a cross‐sectional study using data collected from 280 consecutive type 1 diabetes patients who used a routine clinic consultation tool that recorded HbA1c, hypoglycaemia awareness (measured using the Gold score) and diabetes distress (measured using the Diabetes Distress Scale 2 [ DDS 2]). We assessed correlations between DDS 2 and HbA1c and DDS 2 and Gold score and performed an ordinal regression analysis to identify factors contributing to distress. Results Diabetes distress was significantly correlated with HbA1c ( r = .319, P < .001) and Gold score ( r = .258, P < .001) independently and with synergistic effect. Female gender was also associated with diabetes distress, while age, BMI , duration of diabetes, severity of complications and use of CSII pumps were not. Occurrence of severe hypoglycaemia (SH) episodes increased with Gold score in a linear manner throughout the scale. Conclusions This study has identified new evidence of a significant, independent relationship between diabetes distress measured by the DDS 2 and reduced awareness of hypoglycaemia in people with type 1 diabetes. It also demonstrates that diabetes distress is significantly associated with HbA1c and female gender independently. The DDS 2 identifies distress associated with both hypo‐ and hyperglycaemia and can be a useful creening tool. Additionally, the occurrence of SH increases with increasing Gold score.