Hypoglycaemia in type 1 diabetes: technological treatments, their limitations and the place of psychology
Pratik Choudhary, Stephanie A. Amie
Diabetologia Febr 08
Mycket välskriven artikel av hypoglykemi-expert Stephan Amniel, UK,
Denna artikel och detta ämne diskuterades också på ATTD
Full text pdf utan lösenord. Nedan är endast utdrag från artikeln. Läs hela artikeln, klicka på nedan www
Abstract
Advances in technology allowing improved insulin delivery and glucose monitoring can significantly reduce the burden of hypoglycaemia when used appropriately. However, limitations of the current technology, and the skills, commitment and motivation required to use them, mean that it does not work for all people. Education and informed professional support are key to success. In the context of problematic hypoglycaemia, data suggest that newer technology has lower efficacy and uptake in those with most need. Identifying the causes of hypoglycaemia and understanding some of the underlying behavioural drivers may prove useful and psycho-educational strategies may be effective in selected individuals. Ultimately, as in many spheres of medicine, successful management of problematic hypoglycaemia depends upon matching the right treatment to the right individual.
Introduction
Management of type 1 diabetes is complex, with patients juggling the competing risks of hyperglycaemia and hypoglycaemia. To achieve optimal glucose control, people with type 1 diabetes must adjust insulin dosing for predicted requirements, which vary according to food and alcohol intake, exercise, illness and other variables. The slow onset and long duration of action of currently available subcutaneous injections of insulin add to this challenge. Achieving ‘optimal’ glucose control is an uphill task that most people living with type 1 diabetes struggle to achieve. Hypoglycaemia and the fear it causes make a significant contribution to the higher than desired glucose results seen in national audits and registries [1, 2, 3].
Although the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT) reported a threefold increased risk of severe hypoglycaemia (episodes requiring third-party assistance) with intensive insulin therapy [4] and a curvilinear relationship between severe hypoglycaemia and HbA1c, more recent observational data fail to confirm these findings [5]. Raised HbA1c does not protect against hypoglycaemia, neither does lower HbA1c necessarily increase its incidence. Age, duration of diabetes, previous occurrence of severe hypoglycaemia, impaired awareness of hypoglycaemia (IAH), C-peptide deficiency and lower socioeconomic status are key risk factors for severe hypoglycaemia [5]. Rates of severe hypoglycaemia in adults with type 1 diabetes are quoted at around 1.3 episodes per person per year and an estimated 18–36% of people with type 1 diabetes experience an episode in any one year; however, a small proportion of individuals experience a very high frequency of severe hypoglycaemia events [6, 7]. Recurrent exposure to mild biochemical hypoglycaemia reduces symptom awareness and counter-regulatory hormonal protection against hypoglycaemia [8] and can lead to IAH, with a three- to sixfold increased risk of severe hypoglycaemia [9, 10] and an impaired quality of life [11]. Although meticulous avoidance of hypoglycaemia has resulted in restored awareness in some studies [9], achieving this in routine clinical practice can be challenging.
Fear is an important motivator in diabetes self-management. Previous experience of hypoglycaemia and fear of hypoglycaemia remain limiting factors for many in achieving optimal glucose control [11, 12] and can lead to behaviours such as keeping glucose levels high or snacking to avoid hypoglycaemia [12]. On the other hand, fear of complications can act as a driver for people with type 1 diabetes to strive for very tight glucose control, which may be at the expense of frequent and significant hypoglycaemia [13].
The psychological associations of IAH
Inevitably there are some diabetic individuals who seem unable to gain benefit from technology. In the context of this review, we focus on those with problematic hypoglycaemia, in whom the lack of benefit may be partly explained by the central mechanisms responsible for IAH. Neuroimaging data have led to suggestions that those with IAH may not perceive hypoglycaemia to be stressful and unpleasant. This may lead to reduced internal motivation to avoid hypoglycaemia. In a study of adults with type 1 diabetes in a specialist clinic in Sweden, Anderbro and colleagues found 8% of participants to be at high risk of severe hypoglycaemia but who were relatively unconcerned about this [81]. In another report, when compared with individuals with normal awareness of hypoglycaemia in a UK clinic, those individuals with IAH were significantly less likely to follow advice on insulin regimen adjustment, presumably often focusing on hypoglycaemia avoidance [82]. Detailed interviews with individuals with IAH reveal that many of them do not see severe hypoglycaemia as a major problem, or at least see even mildly raised glucose levels as far more serious [83, 84]. Fear of hyperglycaemia may underlie failure of attempts to avoid hypoglycaemia. It is often family members who are far more distressed about a person’s hypoglycaemia [84].
Future directions
Some of the barriers to adoption of new technology may resolve as the apparatus improves. Perfection of closed-loop insulin delivery should reduce the need for alarms and remove frustrations related to equipment failure or intrusiveness. Anxieties about computer-generated advice on insulin dosing may be allayed by greater understanding of how the algorithms work. Psychological support may be required to quell fears of becoming dependent on external equipment and dislike of being attached to machinery that provides a constant reminder of having type 1 diabetes and the attendant personal vulnerability. There is early evidence that addressing health beliefs around hypoglycaemia that have created barriers to hypoglycaemia avoidance may help those most prone to problematic hypoglycaemia to gain benefit from existing interventions and technologies, thus reducing their hypoglycaemia experience and restoring their (and their family’s) quality of life [85].
Ensuring adequate provision of evidence-based and informed education and, where indicated, psychological support, around use of both conventional and new technologies will help achieve best and most cost-effective outcomes for more people living with the demands of managing type 1 diabetes and ensure that the expected benefits of the new technologies can be realised.
Nyhetsoinfo
www red DiabetologNytt