Predictors for Mild and Severe Hypoglycemia in Insulin-Treated Japanese Diabetic Patients

Factors Influencing Hypoglycemia in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Outpatients with State Health Insurance at Regional General Hospitals in Jakarta, Indonesia

BACKGROUND

Hypoglycemia is an acute episode that can lead to death in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM). This condition is preventable with patient education, and identifying factors influencing their occurrence is essential to creating effective and efficient education. It also leads to prevention and control by re-organizing the service system and diabetes policies. This study aimed to determine factors contributing to hypoglycemic episodes in type 2 DM outpatients covered by the state-provided Jaminan Kesehatan Nasional (JKN) health insurance.

METHODS

The study used a cross-sectional design and collected data from five regional general hospitals in Jakarta, Indonesia. The outpatients were sampled consecutively from two hospitals in September-November 2021, one in January-March 2022, and two others in April-June 2023. Interviews produced primary data related to experienced hypoglycemic episodes, and medical records provided secondary data on patients' clinical characteristics and treatments. Binary logistic regression analysis was employed to process the contributing factors statistically.

RESULTS

From 501 patients who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria, it was found that the prevalence of hypoglycemia was 53.3%. Factors that significantly increased hypoglycemic risk (p < 0.05) were high HbA1c levels (OR 1.9; 95% CI 1.2-2.9), comorbidities (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.1-2.4), insulin/sulfonylurea therapy (OR 2; 95% CI 1-4), non-smoking habit (OR 2.2; 95% CI 1.3-3.6) and physically active lifestyle (OR 1.8; 95% CI 1.2-2.6).

CONCLUSION

The prevalence of hypoglycemia in type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) outpatients with the state-provided health insurance Jaminan Kesehatan Nasional (JKN) at general hospitals in Jakarta is high. The diabetes self-management education (DSME) services provided by health professionals for these outpatients must be further improved.

Data-based modeling for hypoglycemia prediction: Importance, trends, and implications for clinical practice

Background and objective

Hypoglycemia is a key barrier to achieving optimal glycemic control in people with diabetes, which has been proven to cause a set of deleterious outcomes, such as impaired cognition, increased cardiovascular disease, and mortality. Hypoglycemia prediction has come to play a role in diabetes management as big data analysis and machine learning (ML) approaches have become increasingly prevalent in recent years. As a result, a review is needed to summarize the existing prediction algorithms and models to guide better clinical practice in hypoglycemia prevention.

Materials and methods

PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library were searched for relevant studies published between 1 January 2015 and 8 December 2022. Five hypoglycemia prediction aspects were covered: real-time hypoglycemia, mild and severe hypoglycemia, nocturnal hypoglycemia, inpatient hypoglycemia, and other hypoglycemia (postprandial, exercise-related).

Results

From the 5,042 records retrieved, we included 79 studies in our analysis. Two major categories of prediction models are identified by an overview of the chosen studies: simple or logistic regression models based on clinical data and data-based ML models (continuous glucose monitoring data is most commonly used). Models utilizing clinical data have identified a variety of risk factors that can lead to hypoglycemic events. Data-driven models based on various techniques such as neural networks, autoregressive, ensemble learning, supervised learning, and mathematical formulas have also revealed suggestive features in cases of hypoglycemia prediction.

Conclusion

In this study, we looked deep into the currently established hypoglycemia prediction models and identified hypoglycemia risk factors from various perspectives, which may provide readers with a better understanding of future trends in this topic.

Adherence to healthy lifestyle behaviors as a preventable risk factor for severe hypoglycemia in people with type 2 diabetes: A longitudinal nationwide cohort study

AIMS/INTRODUCTION

We investigated the associations between a combination of lifestyle factors and changes to these factors and the subsequent risk of severe hypoglycemia (SH) in type 2 diabetes patients.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Individuals with adult type 2 diabetes who underwent consecutive 2-year interval health screening programs from 2009 to 2012 from the Korean National Health Insurance Service database were included and followed up until 2018. Information on history of smoking status, alcohol consumption and physical activity, as well as changes to these factors, was obtained. The primary outcome was incident SH.

RESULTS

Of the 1,490,233 type 2 diabetes patients, 30,539 (2.1%) patients developed SH. Current smokers and heavy drinkers had increased risk of SH, compared with non-smokers and non-drinkers, respectively (hazard ratio 1.28, 95% confidence interval 1.23-1.34; hazard ratio 1.22, 95% confidence interval 1.15-1.30). However, regular physical activity was associated with reduced SH risk (hazard ratio 0.79, 95% confidence interval 0.77-0.82). A combination of unhealthy lifestyle habits was associated with increased SH risk in a dose-dependent fashion (P for trend <0.001). Compared with participants without changes in their unhealthy lifestyles, participants who improved lifestyles had decreased risk of SH.

CONCLUSIONS

Greater adherence to healthy lifestyle factors and any improvement in unhealthy lifestyle habits were associated with a substantially lower risk of SH in individuals with type 2 diabetes.

Biodistribution of Insulin Following Massive Insulin Subcutaneous Injection

A man in his 30s injected insulin several times into his abdomen and was found dead several hours later. Micropathological findings showed alveolar injury with hemorrhaging and cerebral parietal lobe nerve cell edema. Biochemical examinations showed that the blood insulin level was high, significantly so at the insulin injection sites. The blood glucose and C-peptide levels were low. The insulin level in the kidneys was low. In forensic medicine, a postmortem diagnosis of insulin subcutaneous injection is often difficult. When insulin injection is suspected, particularly high insulin levels can be expected at the insulin injection site, rather than in the blood.

Management of diabetes mellitus in patients with cirrhosis: An overview and joint statement

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a frequent comorbidity in patients with cirrhosis that is projected to rise in prevalence due to the worldwide burden of obesity, insulin-resistance and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. The management of T2DM in patients with cirrhosis is complex given the requirement for accurate adaptation according to the level of liver function impairment, with lack of summary of the little evidence available in the literature. Here, we summarise the data available with respect to the epidemiology and the impact of T2DM in patients with cirrhosis, as well as those on the management of T2DM in these patients. We provide guidance for the diagnosis of T2DM and the monitoring of glycaemic control in patients with cirrhosis, and for the management of nutrition and pharmacological treatments in relation to the level of liver dysfunction.

Cuidados de enfermería para la persona adulta, diabética con hipoglucemia: revisión integrativa

Introducción: La hipoglucemia es la complicación más frecuente del tratamiento con insulina en adultos. Los eventos de hipoglucemia severa se asocian con complicaciones a corto, mediano y largo plazo en  pacientes con diabetes ellmitus. Una de las estrategias para reducir  la frecuencia de hipoglucemia son las intervenciones de enfermería y  aunque hay pocos estudios que las enuncian de manera explícita, se ha publicado respecto a las necesidades de dichos pacientes, que permiten determinar características definitorias de  diagnósticos enfermeros y a partir de ellos establecer metas e intervenciones enfermeras, para el cuidado de dichos pacientes.  Objetivo: identificar los cuidados de enfermería para prevenir y controlar los eventos de hipoglucemia en pacientes adultos diagnosticados con diabetes mellitus. Metodología: revisión integrativa, se realizó en seis fases: planteamiento de la pregunta PICO; búsqueda en bases de datos y metabuscadores; lectura crítica; análisis, clasificación, validación por nivel de evidencia y grado de recomendación, y presentación de la información. Resultados: la revisión reportó cinco categorías: factores de riesgo y protectores, miedo a la hipoglucemia, atención brindada al paciente, disminución de la hipoglucemia y descripción del impacto de la hipoglucemia en los pacientes. Conclusiones: a partir de las necesidades reportadas en las 5 categorías de los resultados se determinaron características definitorias y factores relacionados que permitieron formular diagnósticos de enfermería y determinar como principales intervenciones: enseñanza del proceso de enfermedad, medicamentos prescritos, entrenamiento de asertividad, manejo de la hipoglicemia, nutricional y de la medicación, mejorar el afrontamiento, enseñanza individual, facilitar el aprendizaje y potenciación de la disposición de aprendizaje.

Switching to Degludec is Associated with Reduced Hypoglycaemia, Irrespective of Definition Used or Patient Characteristics: Secondary Analysis of the ReFLeCT Prospective, Observational Study

INTRODUCTION

Hypoglycaemia is a common side effect of insulin therapy; low or high glycated haemoglobin (HbA_1c) levels, history of hypoglycaemia or long diabetes duration are known modifiers of hypoglycaemia risk. In randomised clinical trials, lower rates of hypoglycaemia have been observed with the new-generation insulin analogue, long-acting insulin degludec, compared with other basal insulins.

METHODS

The ReFLeCT study was a prospective observational study over 12 months. Patient-reported diary data on hypoglycaemia were collected from patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D) or type 2 diabetes (T2D) who were switching from other basal insulins to insulin degludec (degludec) at their physician's discretion in routine clinical care. Two secondary analyses were undertaken to investigate the change in number of hypoglycaemic events: a post hoc analysis using the updated American Diabetes Association (ADA) level 1, 2 and 3 hypoglycaemia definitions, and a pre-specified analysis using patient characteristics (baseline HbA_1c, diabetes duration, and physician's rationale for initiating degludec).

RESULTS

Switching to degludec was associated with significantly fewer hypoglycaemic events for all definitions in T1D, and level 1 and 2 in T2D (too few level 3 events for statistical comparison). Moreover, patient characteristics did not influence the observed reduction in hypoglycaemia in T1D and T2D.

CONCLUSION

These results demonstrate that switching to degludec from other basal insulins was associated with reduced rates of hypoglycaemia, irrespective of the definition used or baseline patient characteristics.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

NCT02392117.

Risk factors of severe hypoglycemia requiring medical assistance and neurological sequelae in patients with diabetes: A case-control study

Hypoglycemia commonly occurs in patients who are being treated for diabetes. In some cases, these patients suffer from severe hypoglycemia that requires medical assistance and which can unfortunately result in long-term disabilities. Therefore, we investigated risk factors associated with severe hypoglycemia requiring medical assistance (HMA) and the resulting neurological sequelae in patients with diabetes. This investigation was a case-control study that assessed 129 patients with diabetes and documented hypoglycemia from a single tertiary hospital between February 2013 and May 2015. They were treated with oral hypoglycemic agents alone (54%) or with insulin with/without oral hypoglycemic agents (46%). If a patient with diabetes visited the emergency department due to hypoglycemia, this was defined as HMA. The control group was composed of patients with documented, nonsevere hypoglycemia who visited the outpatient clinic during the same period. The degree of neurological disability in the HMA patients was measured using the modified Rankin Scale. A multivariate analysis revealed that independent risk factors of HMA were associated with a lack of the self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) and previous episodes of severe hypoglycemia. In the HMA group, 15 patients (22%) had neurological sequelae at the time of discharge. Patients with neurological sequelae were older than those without sequelae (74.3 years vs 65.8 years, P = 0.006) and had increased psychological evidence of disorders such as insomnia, dementia, and depression (40% vs 11%, P = 0.017). Patients with sequelae were also more likely to live in rural areas (47% vs 19%, P = 0.04) and to have a longer time from last seen normal till glucose administration (5.2 hours vs 1.6 hours, P = 0.027). In the present study, absence of SMBG and previous severe hypoglycemic episodes were independent risk factors of HMA and patients with an older age, a psychological disorder, a rural residence, and a prolonged duration of hypoglycemia had higher risks of neurological sequelae. Therefore, the present findings suggest that physicians should aim to prevent hypoglycemia in patients with a history of hypoglycemia and provide education for these patients regarding regular SMBG.