The Investigation on Impaired Awareness of Hypoglycemia (IAH) in Japan

Abstract

Impaired awareness of hypoglycemia (IAH), a condition in which a patient cannot consciously recognize hypoglycemia, is associated with serious hypoglycemia and dementia. However, no cases of IAH have been studied in Japan. We herein report the first study of Japanese IAH, which aimed to consider the condition's relationship with dementia. We distributed a questionnaire on IAH to diabetes patients, and examined self-monitoring of blood glucose. We then examined the relationship between the clinical diabetic history and diabetic complications in IAH patients. Moreover, we investigated the relationship between IAH and dementia. Although the patients who were diagnosed with IAH comprised almost 10 % of the patients who were surveyed in this study, there were differences between the diagnosis of IAH using the questionnaire and the clinical impression of a lack of hypoglycemia awareness in the self-monitoring blood glucose. To gain a further understanding of this condition, it will be necessary for diabetes patients who are diagnosed with IAH to undergo tests of cognitive function over time. We will continue to verify the differences between IAH and non-IAH patients, in the future.