Association of Depressive Symptoms and Diabetes Distress With Severe Hypoglycemia in Adults With Type 2 Diabetes.

OBJECTIVES: To examine the association of depressive symptoms (DS) and diabetes-related distress (DD) with severe hypoglycemia (SH) in adults with type 2 diabetes.

METHODS: Baseline data from a cohort study of adults with type 2 diabetes (N=2,040) were used. The Patient Health Questionnaire 8-items and Problem Areas in Diabetes 5-items questionnaires were used to assess DS and DD, respectively. SH was defined as a positive report of "calling an ambulance or visiting an emergency department because of hypoglycemia in the past year." Composite dummy variables for the 2 stratification levels of DS and DD were computed and used in multivariable logistic regression analyses.

RESULTS: Participants had a mean (± SD) age of 64±11 years, and 45% were female. The average duration of diabetes was 12±9 years; 3% had moderate to severe DS, 8% had moderate to severe DD and 5% had moderate to severe levels of both symptoms. Only 4.2% of participants reported experiencing SH in the past year. The presence of any level of DD (adjusted OR 2.3; 95% CI 1.3, 3.9) or moderate to severe DD (2.2; 1.1, 4.2) was associated with increased risk for SH. Combinations of any levels of DD and DS (4.3; 2.5, 7.3) and moderate to severe DD and DS (2.3; 1.1, 4.8) were associated with increased risk for SH. The presence of any level of DS alone (1.2; 0.3, 4.9) or moderate to severe DS (1.7; 0.6, 5.1) was not associated with increased risk for SH.

CONCLUSIONS: Patients with type 2 diabetes and symptoms of depression, but not diabetes-related distress alone, were more likely to experience SH than those without either of these symptoms.