The Relationship between Fear of Hypoglycemia and Quality of Life in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes

Fear of hypoglycemia is one of the biggest obstacles to achieving proper blood glucose control in diabetic patients, adversely affecting the proper treatment of diabetes and quality of life in these patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between fear of hypoglycemia and quality of life in patients with type 2 diabetes.

The present study was a descriptive analytic-correlational study, conducted in 2018 on 360 patients with 2 diabetes referreing to the Velayat teaching hospital in Ghazvin. Data collection tools included a personal-social checklist, the Hypoglycemia Fear Survey (HFS) and information on Diabetes Quality of Life (DQOL). Data collected were analyzed using one-way ANOVA, Pearson correlation test statistics by SPSS.24 software.

Mean scores of quality of life and fear of hypoglycemia were 44.3±8.6 and 22.07±8.7 respectively. The highest quality of life score for patients in the pill treatment group was 46.4±7.8, and the highest scores of hypoglycemia were in the insulin treatment group with a mean of 26.1±10.5. In this study, there was a significant, inverse relationship between fear of hypoglycemia and quality of life (r=-0.46, p<0.001).

Results show a significant, inverse relationship between fear of hypoglycemia and quality of life in diabetic patients, such that the occurrence of this fear is higher in patients treated with insulin. Based on results, it is recommended that these patients should be educated on the action of insulin and its mode of injection, and on how to prioritize and manage their activities.