1. Personality traits of alexithymia and perfectionism in impaired awareness of hypoglycemia in adults with type 1 diabetes – An exploratory study
- Author
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Stephanie A. Amiel, Nicole de Zoysa, Anna Naito, Munachiso Nwokolo, Emma Smith, Pratik Choudhary, and Christopher Garrett
- Subjects
Alexithymia ,Adult ,Short Communication ,Hypoglycemia ,medicine.disease_cause ,IAH, impaired awareness of hypoglycemia ,Diabetes mellitus ,SH, severe hypoglycemia ,medicine ,Humans ,Affective Symptoms ,Risk factor ,Big Five personality traits ,Psychological aspects ,Type 1 diabetes ,A2A, Attitudes to Awareness questionnaire ,business.industry ,Diabetes ,Cognition ,Perfectionism (psychology) ,FPMS, Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale ,Awareness ,medicine.disease ,Psychiatry and Mental health ,Clinical Psychology ,Cross-Sectional Studies ,Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 ,Perfectionism ,business ,TAS-20, Toronto Alexithymia Scale ,Clinical psychology - Abstract
Objective Severe hypoglycemia complicates insulin therapy for type 1 diabetes, with impaired awareness of hypoglycemia (IAH) being a major risk factor. We explored associations between the personality traits, alexithymia and perfectionism, and cognitive barriers to hypoglycemia avoidance described in IAH, and evaluated their prevalence in people with and without IAH. Methods Cross-sectional exploratory study. Ninety adults with type 1 diabetes, 54 hypoglycemia aware and 36 with IAH, completed validated questionnaires exploring alexithymia (Total Alexithymia Scale [TAS-20]) and perfectionism (Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale [FMPS]); and cognitive barriers related to hypoglycemia avoidance (Attitudes to Awareness Questionnaire [A2A]. Results Alexithymia and perfectionism scores correlated positively with cognitive barriers associated with IAH. Specifically, alexthymia scores correlated with the ‘Hyperglycaemia Avoidance Prioritised’ factor (r = 0.265; p = .02, n = 77) and the ‘Asymptomatic Hypoglycemia Normalised’ factor (r = 0.252–0.255; p = .03, n = 77). Perfectionism scores correlated with the ‘Hyperglycaemia Avoidance Prioritised’ factor (r = 0.525; p, Highlights • Impaired awareness of hypoglycemia is a major problem in type 1 diabetes. • There is evidence for cognitive barriers to hypoglycemia avoidance in this condition. • Alexithymia and perfectionism may be associated with these cognitive barriers. • Identifying those with predispositions may help target psychological intervention.
- Published
- 2021