Authors: Davis, Ruth E.¹; Morrissey, Malcolm²; Peters, John R.³; Wittrup-Jensen, Kim⁴; Kennedy-Martin, Tessa⁵; Currie, Craig J.⁶

Source: Current Medical Research and Opinion, Volume 21, Number 9, September 2005 , pp. 1477-1484(8)

Publisher: Informa Healthcare

Abstract:

Aim: To characterise the impact of increasing severity and frequency of hypoglycaemia on utility, quality of life, primary care resource use and productivity (time away from normal activities) in people with both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.

Methods: A postal survey was sent to 3200 people with diabetes. Self-reported episodes of mild, moderate, severe and nocturnal hypoglycaemia were quantified from a list of signs and symptoms. A number of instruments were used to explore the effect of frequency and severity of hypoglycaemia on quality of life and productivity.

Results: There were 861 respondents for whom diabetes type was identifiable. Of these respondents, 629 (73%) experienced some form of hypoglycaemia, 516 (60%) non-exclusively experienced mild or moderate hypoglycaemia, 57 (7%) experienced severe hypoglycaemia and 191 (22%) experienced nocturnal hypoglycaemia. Quality of life and health-related utility decreased as the frequency and severity of hypoglycaemia increased. The use of primary care resources and lost productivity increased as the severity and frequency of hypoglycaemia increased. These associations were independent in multivariate analysis.

Conclusions: These findings suggest hypoglycaemia impacts heavily on the well-being, productivity and quality of life of people with diabetes, and that every effort should be made to minimise hypoglycaemia while aiming for good glycaemic control.

Keywords: DIABETES; HYPOGLYCAEMIA; PRODUCTIVITY; QUALITY OF LIFE; RESOURCE USE

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1185/030079905X61929

Affiliations: 1: School of Care Sciences, University of Glamorgan, Pontypridd, Wales, United Kingdom 2: Cardiff Research Consortium Limited, Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom 3: Department of Medicine, University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom 4: Health Economics and Outcomes Research, Novo Nordisk, Bagsvaerd, Denmark 5: Health Outcomes, Novo Nordisk, Crawley, United Kingdom 6: Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK

Publication date: 2005-09-01

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