Individuals with type 2 diabetes are risking their health by not understanding the signs of hypoglycaemia, a new clinical review has argued.
An article published this September in Current Medical Research and Opinion highlights that individuals with type 2 diabetes are unaware of the symptoms of hypoglycaemia, a preventable side effect of diabetes treatments, which leads to a “significant impact” on the individual’s ability to treat the hypoglycaemia correctly.
Hypoglycaemia occurs when the level of glucose in the blood falls too low (usually under 4 mmol/L), causing symptoms such as dizziness and nausea in up to 45% of people with type 2 diabetes over a 12-month period. This is a current topic of discussion as hypoglycaemia has been reported as a factor in around five fatal crashes a year and 45 serious events a month. This has led to changes to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency medical standard guidelines.
On this topic, an MSD-funded survey found that people with type 2 diabetes were not aware of the signs of hypoglycaemia; only a third of the 1012 participants questioned could identify the symptoms of a mild hypoglycaemic episode such as trembling and shakiness, and just one quarter of participants could recognise the symptoms of a severe episode.
Previous episodes of hypoglycaemia is the single greatest risk factor for future episodes, so individuals with type 2 diabetes should be aware of the signs and symptoms of hypoglycaemia and know how to treat it.
For the article click here (you will need to log in to access the full article)
