The relationship between fear of hypoglycemia and carbohydrate count information and application in adult diabetes patients using insulin

Aim: It was aimed to determine the relationship between the fear of hypoglycemia and the knowledge and practice of carbohydrate counting in adult diabetic patients using insulin. Methods: Our cross-sectional analytical study was conducted on outpatients who applied to Dokuz Eylül University Hospital Endocrine Polyclinic. It was aimed to reach at least 132 people with the sample calculation of known universe. The hypoglycemia fear scale, the questionnaire in which sociodemographic characteristics and information about the disease were questioned, the nutrition knowledge level questionnaire and the anxiety subscale of the hospital anxiety depression scale were administered to the participants. The data of the research were evaluated using the SPSS 25 program. In the statistical evaluation of the data, p<0.05 was accepted as significant. Findings: A total of 140 participants were reached in our study. 54.3% (n:76) of the participants were female and 45.7% (n:64) were male. 41.4% (n: 58) of the participants had type 1 diabetes and 58.6% (n: 82) had type 2 diabetes. Among the participants, the rate of employees was found to be 30%, and the rate of those who did not work was 70%. The rate of those who stated that they received carbohydrate counting training was 38.6% (n: 54) and the rate of those who stated that they did not receive training was 60.7% (n: 85). According to the results of the nutrition knowledge level questionnaire, 27.9% of those who knew how to count carbohydrates were found to be 72.1% who did not. A significant correlation was found between fear of hypoglycemia and educational status, working status, and frequency of hypoglycemia attacks (p<0.05). No significant correlation was found between knowledge and practice of carbohydrate counting and fear of hypoglycemia. A significant correlation was found between the anxiety states of the patients and the fear of hypoglycemia (p<0.05). Results: In our study, a significant correlation was found between the fear of hypoglycemia and the anxiety states of the patients and the frequency of hypoglycemia attacks. Considering the negative effects of fear of hypoglycemia on diabetes management, hypoglycemia fears should be questioned in the management of diabetic patients and interventions should be planned to reduce their fears. Keywords: Fear of hypoglycemia, carbohydrate counting, diabetes