Hypoglycemia: Elucidating its circadian propensity and recovery time based on clinical parameters

BACKGROUND: Hypoglycemia is frequently associated with insulin therapy in diabetic patients; it leads to many short and long-term complications and even death if not addressed in time. This study was undertaken to observe the circadian propensity of hypoglycemia and its recovery time based on type 2 diabetes mellitus patients’ clinical parameters. METHODS: We included type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) hospitalized patients with the exclusion of patients suffering from critical illness. Data were collected for a period of three months (September to November 2019). RESULTS: A total of 120 patients were included, comprising 60% males and 40% females. Approximately 55% of patients had hypoglycemic episodes at around 12 am– 6 am. The most common comorbidity present in these patients was hypertension (43.3%, P=0.931). Anemia (OR-3.765, CI-1.350-5.500, P=0.011), retinopathy (OR 6.066, CI-2.031-8.113, P=0.001), and duration of DM (OR-6.266, CI-2.209-7.774, P=0.001) were significantly associated with the recovery time of hypoglycemia, around 50±14.14min in the elderly population of age 60-70. People with BMI 22.5- 27.5 Kg/m(2 )took around 45.66 ± 19.37 min to recover after treatment. CONCLUSION: Time taken to recover from hypoglycemic episodes vary with age and BMI. Associated comorbidities such as anemia, retinopathy, and DM duration had a significant bearing on the time taken to recover from hypoglycemia. Recovery time was directly proportional to BMI, a new finding that needs further molecular level evaluation. Circadian propensity of hypoglycemia in these patients have been identified in the early morning hours of the day.