Predictors of fear of hypoglycemia in adolescents with type 1 diabetes and their parents

Abstract

Objectives: This study tested the hypothesis that both trait anxiety and hypoglycemic history contribute to fear of hypoglycemia (FOH) both in adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) and in their parents, and relationships between FOH and other variables including metabolic control, symptom perception, and use of insulin pump therapy.

Study design: Thirty-nine parent-adolescent pairs completed questionnaires assessing background and clinical information, hypoglycemic episodes, FOH, and trait anxiety. Adolescent blood was also sampled for glycosylated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) measurement.

Results: In adolescents, both trait anxiety and frequency of severe hypoglycemic episodes were significant predictors of FOH, together accounting for almost 50% of the variance. Parental FOH was not predicted by their own trait anxiety or their child's hypoglycemic history but by whether they believed that their child carried emergency glucose. FOH was not related to metabolic control, although adolescents who experienced recent severe hypoglycemia (SH) with unconsciousness had significantly higher HbA1c. Parental trait anxiety significantly correlated with child trait anxiety, but parent-child levels of FOH were unrelated. Neither trait anxiety nor FOH related to reported symptoms, and FOH was not lower in parents with insulin pump therapy.

Conclusions: Consistent with findings from adult patient populations, trait anxiety levels and recent experiences with hypoglycemia predict FOH in adolescents with T1DM. In parents, however, beliefs about their adolescents' ability to cope with hypoglycemic episodes predicted FOH. FOH in adolescents with T1DM and their parents is a complex construct influenced by multiple personality and situational and behavioral factors, and its impact on diabetes management remains unclear.