Family Members: The Forgotten Players in the Diabetes Care Team (The TALK-HYPO Study)

INTRODUCTION: The objective of this study was to establish the burden of hypoglycemia on family members of people with diabetes (PWDs) and to gain an understanding of how conversations about hypoglycemia can contribute to diabetes care. METHODS: This was a multinational cross-sectional study of family members of people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes taking insulin and/or secretagogues for ≥ 12 months who voluntarily completed an online questionnaire. RESULTS: Overall, 4300 family members of PWDs (type 1 [29%], type 2 [46%], unknown [25%]) were surveyed. Two in three family members (66%) reported thinking about the hypoglycemia of the PWD at least monthly, and 64% felt worried or anxious about the PWD’s risk for hypoglycemia. There was general agreement among family members that more conversations about hypoglycemia would have a positive impact on the PWD’s life (76%). CONCLUSIONS: Hypoglycemia can present a burden on the lives of family members of PWDs. Conversations about hypoglycemia, facilitated by a healthcare professional, may reduce this burden and hypoglycemia risk. FUNDING: Novo Nordisk A/S. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1007/s13300-019-00687-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.