Impaired Awareness of Hypoglycaemia In Type 1 Diabetes
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A study of the prevalence of impaired awareness of hypoglycaemia in adults with type 1 diabetes
IRAS ID
299167
Contact name
Shareen Forbes
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Edinburgh
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 6 months, 1 days
Research summary
People with type 1 diabetes lose their ability to make insulin, which is the hormone that allows carbohydrates to be used by the body. It is managed using insulin replacement therapy. A well described side-effect of insulin replacement is low blood glucose (hypoglycaemia). People with type 1 diabetes are at increased risk of hypoglycaemia the longer they have had the condition. Many episodes are mild but recurrent episodes can lead to severe hypoglycaemia, where the person needs assistance from a third party to recover. One factor that increases the risk of severe hypoglycaemia is the condition of impaired awareness of hypoglycaemia (IAH). Normally when blood glucose falls people experience warning symptoms. Experiencing these symptoms allows action to be taken to prevent their blood glucose falling further, such as eating. People who have IAH no longer experience these symptoms and so cannot recognise when their blood glucose is falling. This puts them at increased risk of severe episodes of hypoglycaemia where they may lose consciousness or require hospital admission. It has been shown that IAH can be prevented and reversed by strictly avoiding hypoglycaemia. Recent advances in the management of diabetes-new insulins, technology and structured education programmes-have been shown to reduce episodes of hypoglycaemia. This project aims to identify if these innovations have led to fewer people having IAH in the local population. We also aim to identify factors that put people at increased risk of IAH and survey how IAH and hypoglycaemia affects people’s lives. Results from the study can be used to inform discussions that are had with people in the clinic around IAH and hypoglycaemia. These findings can also be applied to the general type 1 diabetes population and may lead to people feeling more supported regarding IAH and being given more strategies to manage it.
REC name
Wales REC 5
REC reference
21/WA/0149
Date of REC Opinion
26 May 2021
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion