Inertia on hypoglycemia: Highlight from a Taiwan subgroup analysis of Real-Life Effectiveness and Care Patterns of Diabetes Management (RECAP-DM) study
Journal
Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice
Journal Volume
98
Journal Issue
1
Pages
61-67
Date Issued
2012
Author(s)
Lin C.-L.
Chien M.-N.
Hsieh S.-H.
Huang Y.-Y.
Shih K.-C.
Tu S.-T.
Chang C.-T.
Chien-Ning H.
Chou C.-W.
Wu T.-J.
Liu R.-T.
Lam H.-C.
Kwok C.-F.
Fu C.-C.
Sheu W.H.-H.
Abstract
Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a global health issue. Patients with poor glycemic control often suffer from cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, neuropathic, and nephropathic complications as well as other chronic conditions. Therapeutic guidelines recommend that diabetic patients should maintain their HbA1c level below a certain target in order to minimize the risk of developing complications. However, hypoglycemia is recognized as a major impediment to the adequate control of type 2 diabetes. Hypoglycemia can manifest symptoms of varying degrees of severity. Moreover, an association between hypoglycemia and cardiovascular morbidity and mortality has been reported. Here, we present a post hoc Taiwan subgroup analysis of these data collected in the RECAP-DM study to indicate probably more emphasis and concern on hypoglycemia in type 2 diabetic patients in Taiwan. In this analysis, we found no significant difference was observed in treatment-related satisfaction between Taiwanese patients with or without hypoglycemia. Another finding of our study further shows that varying order of hypoglycemic symptoms or severity has no effect on patients' assessment of health-related quality of life scores. We need to pay more attention to this issue because of its enduring impact on compliance and concerns about hypoglycemia in type 2 diabetic patients. Nevertheless, socio-demographic characteristics are also important factors influencing glycemic control and patients' health-related quality of life. Future interventions and therapeutic algorithms should emphasize the probable patients' unawareness or neglect on hypoglycemia in diabetic patients. ? 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd.
SDGs
Other Subjects
hemoglobin A1c; adult; aged; article; Asia; clinical study; controlled study; cross-sectional study; demography; disease severity; female; glycemic control; health care quality; human; hypoglycemia; major clinical study; male; non insulin dependent diabetes mellitus; observational study; patient satisfaction; population research; practice guideline; quality of life; scoring system; socioeconomics; symptomatology; Taiwan; Asia; Blood Glucose; Blood Glucose Self-Monitoring; Comorbidity; Cross-Sectional Studies; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2; Female; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Hemoglobin A, Glycosylated; Humans; Hypoglycemia; Male; Middle Aged; Pacific Islands; Patient Compliance; Quality of Health Care; Risk Assessment; Taiwan; Treatment Outcome
Type
journal article