ABSTRACT
Introduction: Clinically significant hypoglycaemia is considered to be an independent factor for mortality and morbidity in patients with diabetes mellitus. In our study we try to determine the risk factors of such hypoglycaemia by retrospective analysis of a cohort of patients. Study design and methods: The cohort consists of 1108 diabetic patients ranging in age from 19 to 93 years, mean age 56.99 years (standard deviation = 15.67), of whom 444 (40.07%) were type 1 diabetics and 664 (59.93%) were type 2 diabetics, and of the total number of patients, 585 (52.8%) were females and 523 (47.2%) were males. We divided the cohort into groups according to the presence of clinically significant hypoglycaemia during the course of hospitalization according to the American Diabetes Association 2021 criteria. Subsequently, we subjected the data regarding treatment, comorbidities, anthropometric and laboratory parameters of patients from each group to Welch’s t-test. Results: In our cohort, clinically significant hypoglycaemia was present more frequently in younger patients, predominantly with type 1 diabetes mellitus, longer duration of diabetes mellitus, lower Body Mass Index, and lower insulin resistance as expressed by the ratio of triacylglycerols to high-density lipoproteins. Treatment showed a trend towards a higher risk of hypoglycaemia with intensified insulin regimens versus less intensive treatments. The other comorbidities assessed and their treatment did not prove to be risk-increasing factors for hypoglycaemia in our cohort. Conclusion: According to our results, age, type of diabetes mellitus and its duration, low Body Mass Index and intensification of insulin regimen are the main risk factors for clinically significant hypoglycaemia. © 2021. All Rights Reserved.