Incidence rate and risk factors for hypoglycemia among individuals with type 1 diabetes or type 2 diabetes in China receiving insulin treatment

AIMS: We investigated the real-world incidence of hypoglycemic events among patients with type 1 or type 2 diabetes (T1DM or T2DM) receiving insulin in routine clinical practice in China. Methods: In this observational study, data were collected electronically via the Lilly Connected Care Program (LCCP) electronic system from adults with T1DM or T2DM who had registered on LCCP between 1 February 2019 and 31 January 2022, had used insulin for a full 12-week period following registration. The following outcomes were assessed during the 12 weeks following registration: incidence of level 1 and level 2 hypoglycemia. Results: In total, 22,752 patients were enrolled. Among patients with monitoring data, over the 12-week study period, level 1 and 2 hypoglycemia were experienced by 48.8% and 25.9% of patients with T1DM and 26.5% and 13.9% of patients with T2DM. The proportion of patients treated with oral anti-diabetes drugs (OADs) capable of producing hypoglycemia (sulfonylurea or glinide) was 1.3% in T1DM and 1.6% in T2DM, respectively. Questionnaire data revealed that up to 92.5% of hypoglycemic events occurred outside of hospital and 18.6% were serious. Conclusions: These real-world data collected from Chinese patients with diabetes receiving insulin treatment reveal a relatively high percentage of patients experiencing hypoglycemia, with around one quarter of these events classified as severe and as many as 92.5% occurring outside of a hospital or clinic.