Incidence and risk factors for severe and symptomatic hypoglycemia in type 1 diabetes. Results of the HYPOS-1 study.

OBJECTIVE: Hypoglycemia is common in type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). We aimed to update the incidence of severe and symptomatic hypoglycemia and investigate several correlated factors. METHODS: In this multicenter, observational retrospective study, the data of 206 T1DM patients from a sample of 2,229 consecutive patients seen at 18 diabetes clinics were analyzed. Sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, severe hypoglycemia in the past 12 months, and symptomatic hypoglycemia in the past 4 weeks were recorded with a self-report questionnaire and a clinical form during a routine visit. Poisson multivariate models were applied. RESULTS: A minority of patients accounted for the majority of both severe and symptomatic episodes. The incidence rate (IR) of severe hypoglycemia was 0.49 (0.40-0.60) events/person-years. The incidence rate ratio (IRR) was higher in patients with previous severe hypoglycemia (3.71; 2.28-6.04), neuropathy (4.16; 2.14-8.05), long duration (>20 years, 2.96; 1.60-5.45), and on polypharmacy (1.24; 1.13-1.36), but it was lower when a complication was present. The IR of symptomatic hypoglycemia was 53.3 events/person-years, with an IRR significantly higher among women or patients with better education, or shorter duration or on pumps. The IRR was lower in patients with higher BMI or neuropathy or aged more than 50 years. CONCLUSIONS: Fewer than 20 % of T1DM patients are free from hypoglycemia, with one in six having experienced at least one severe episode in the last year. The distribution is uneven, with a tendency of episodes to cluster in some patients. Severe and symptomatic episodes have different correlates and reflect different conditions.

An interactive diary for diet management (DAI): a new telemedicine system able to promote body weight reduction, nutritional education, and consumption of fresh local produce.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this multicenter, longitudinal, single-arm, pre-post comparison was to test a telemedicine system able to promote body weight reduction, nutritional education, and consumption of fresh local produce. METHODS: DAI (MeTeDa srl, San Benedetto del Tronto, Italy) is a software for mobile phones to support patients following a specific dietetic program. It facilitates the communication between the patient and dietician via short text messages. Overall, three specialized dieticians enrolled 140 consecutive patients with body mass index (BMI) >or=25 kg/m(2) who voluntered to follow a specific diet program to be managed with DAI. At baseline and after 20 weeks, data on body weight, waist circumference, BMI, fasting blood glucose, lipid profile, food habits, and physical activity were collected and compared by the Wilcoxon test or the McNemar test. RESULTS: Overall, 115 individuals (82.1%) completed the follow-up. The mean (95% confidence interval) reduction in body weight was -2.5 (-3.2; -1.8) kg, whereas the reduction in waist circumference was -3.7 (-4.6; -2.9) cm, and that in BMI was 1.0 (-0.7; -1.2) kg/m(2). The software was useful as an educational tool: participants achieving the Mediterranean diet targets increased from 14.4% to 69.8% after 20 weeks. On average, each patient recognized and chose fresh local vegetables eight times per week during the follow-up. Participants regularly communicated with dieticians through short text messages. CONCLUSIONS: This study allowed the documentation of the efficacy of a new telemedicine system in supporting people who need to lose body weight. The tool was also suitable for a more articulated initiative of "nutritional education" aiming to promote the healthy properties of the Mediterranean diet and the consumption of local produce.

Incretin-based therapies: a new potential treatment approach to overcome clinical inertia in type 2 diabetes.

Maintaining an adequate metabolic control is still a challenge in many patients with type 2 diabetes. Among the many factors advocated to explain the failure to achieve recommended goals, clinical inertia is increasingly recognised as a primary cause of poor glycaemic control. The existence of a "metabolic memory" strongly supports the adoption of a more aggressive treat-to-target approach, instead of waiting for treatment failure. This approach may be particularly important in the initial phases of the disease, to slow the progressive decline of beta-cell function and improve overall outcomes. The fear of hypoglycaemia and weight gain associated with most of the available treatments are among the main causes of clinical inertia, and strongly affect the attitudes of providers and patients toward therapy intensification. The incretin-based therapies represent a new potential goal-oriented treatment approach. Two classes of incretin-based drugs have been developed: GLP-1 mimetics (exenatide and liraglutide) and DPP-IV inhibitors (sitagliptin and vildagliptin). Incretino-mimetics have a peculiar mechanism of action that is associated with lack of hypoglycaemia and weight loss or neutrality; these characteristics may facilitate therapy intensification and help to attain established goals. Furthermore, they can induce benefits in terms of post-prandial hyperglicemia control and beta-cell function preservation. An early use of this class of drugs may show a positive impact on the disease progression and a delay in the need of insulin injections.