Prevalence of self-reported symptoms attributed to hypoglycaemia within a general female population of the UK

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of symptoms attributed to hypoglycaemia that are reported by a general female population of the UK.

Method: A health and well-being questionnaire, including questions relating to symptoms of low blood 'sugar', medical history and anthropometry, was administered by post to 2000 randomly selected women (17-50 years) in Nottinghamshire. To avoid biasing responses, participants were not made aware of the specific focus of the study.

Results: One thousand one hundred and thirty-six women returned the questionnaire (56.8% response rate). After exclusions, 37.9% of respondents reported symptoms that they attributed to hypoglycaemia, with a median of four episodes reported per month. A significant variation in the reporting of symptoms was found across body mass index (BMI) categories, with the highest prevalence of symptomatic subjects being found at the lowest BMI range (P<.05).

Conclusion: More than a third of women in the UK report experiencing symptoms that they attribute to hypoglycaemia. Body mass index appears to be related to the experiencing of symptoms.