Understanding of Hypo- and Hyperglycemia by Youngsters with Diabetes and Their Parents

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Abstract
Fifty-nine patients with insulin-dependent diabetes and 50 of their parents were asked whether or not they could detect hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia. They then identified from a mixed symptom checklist those symptoms that they used to recognize each state. Patients and parents also rated their subjective judgment of the youngster's current blood glucose level and reported current symptoms. There was a marked discrepancy between the proportion of patients and parents who believed that they could recognize hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia and the proportion who chose physician-selected symptoms as the basis for their judgment. Patients' and parents1 subjective ratings of current blood glucose levels showed no relationship to patients' actual blood glucose levels nor was there a relationship between blood glucose levels and current symptoms reported. On the basis of these findings, several clinical/educational/research interventions are proposed. These include a paradigm for evaluating individual variation in symptomatology and for teaching patients the major symptoms of glycemic states in the context of behavioral patterns and daily life events.

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