Hypoglycaemia fear, treatment adherence, and the quality of life in patients with type 2 diabetes and its determinants.

Aim: This work aims to evaluate the relationship between the fear of hypoglycaemia, treatment adherence, and the quality of life in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and its determinants. Methods: This descriptive and cross‐sectional study sample recruited 1060 T2DM outpatients in a health centre between January and July 2022. The Hypoglycemia Fear Survey (HFS), Type 2 DM Treatment Patient Compliance Scale, and the 5‐Level EuroQol 5‐Dimension (EQ‐5D‐5L) were used for data collection. Results: There was a positive correlation between age, duration of T2DM, and the scores obtained from the HFS and its subscales (p < 0.001). There was a positive, moderate correlation between the total HFS score and the TCS (p < 0.001). There was a negative correlation between the scores obtained from the HFS and the EQ‐5D‐5L (p < 0.001). The multiple regression analysis showed that the quality of life scores of the patients were significantly predicted by hypoglycaemia fear, duration of T2DM diagnosis, and age. (F = 91.691, p < 0.001). Hypoglycaemia fear, duration of T2DM diagnosis, and age explained 38.1% of the quality of life of patients. Conclusion: We determined that the increase in hypoglycaemia fear resulted in a decrease in treatment adherence. Besides, hypoglycaemia fear increased with increasing age and duration of T2DM diagnosis. Summary statement: What is already known about this topic? In a limited literature, it has been reported that patients with diabetes experience hypoglycaemia fear. However, almost all of these studies focus on the hypoglycaemia fear in type 1 diabetes mellitus patients. What this paper adds? There was a positive correlation between the level of treatment adherence and hypoglycaemia fear in patients with T2DM. It was observed that adherence with treatment declined because of the increased fear of hypoglycaemia in patients with T2DM.Hypoglycaemia fear increased with increasing age and duration of T2DM diagnosis.Hypoglycaemia fear, duration of T2DM diagnosis, and age explained 38.1% of the quality of life scores of patients. The implications of this paper: This study reveals a new perspective on hypoglycaemia fear, treatment adherence, and the quality of life scores in patients with T2DM and its determinants.In nursing practice, it was determined that it is important to control hypoglycaemia fears to increase the treatment adherence and quality of life of T2DM patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]