Cigrovski Berkovic M, Bilic-Curcic I, La Grasta Sabolic L, Mrzljak A, Cigrovski V. Fear of hypoglycemia, a game changer during physical activity in type 1 diabetes mellitus patients. World J Diabetes 2021; 12(5): 569-577 [PMID: 33995845 DOI: 10.4239/wjd.v12.i5.569]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Maja Cigrovski Berkovic, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Endocrinology, Diabetes, Metabolism and Clinical Pharmacology, University Hospital Dubrava, Avenija Gojka Suska 6, Zagreb 10000, Croatia. maja.cigrovskiberkovic@gmail.com
Research Domain of This Article
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Article-Type of This Article
Minireviews
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Diabetes. May 15, 2021; 12(5): 569-577 Published online May 15, 2021. doi: 10.4239/wjd.v12.i5.569
Fear of hypoglycemia, a game changer during physical activity in type 1 diabetes mellitus patients
Maja Cigrovski Berkovic, Ines Bilic-Curcic, Lavinia La Grasta Sabolic, Anna Mrzljak, Vjekoslav Cigrovski
Maja Cigrovski Berkovic, Department of Endocrinology, Diabetes, Metabolism and Clinical Pharmacology, University Hospital Dubrava, Zagreb 10000, Croatia
Ines Bilic-Curcic, Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, University of J. J. Strossmayer Osijek, Osijek 31000, Croatia
Lavinia La Grasta Sabolic, Department of Pediatric Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, University Hospital Centre Sestre Milosrdnice, Zagreb 10000, Croatia
Anna Mrzljak, Department of Medicine, Merkur University Hospital, Zagreb 10000, Croatia
Anna Mrzljak, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb 10000, Croatia
Vjekoslav Cigrovski, Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Zagreb, Zagreb 10000, Croatia
Author contributions: Cigrovski Berkovic M contributed to the conception and design of the study, drafted, and revised the manuscript critically; Bilic-Curcic I, Cigrovski V, La Grasta Sabolic L and Mrzljak A collected the data, drafted, and wrote the manuscript; All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Maja Cigrovski Berkovic, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Endocrinology, Diabetes, Metabolism and Clinical Pharmacology, University Hospital Dubrava, Avenija Gojka Suska 6, Zagreb 10000, Croatia. maja.cigrovskiberkovic@gmail.com
Received: December 2, 2020 Peer-review started: December 2, 2020 First decision: March 16, 2021 Revised: March 16, 2021 Accepted: March 29, 2021 Article in press: March 29, 2021 Published online: May 15, 2021 Processing time: 154 Days and 20 Hours
Abstract
Hypoglycemia limits optimal glycemic management of patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). Fear of hypoglycemia (FoH) is a significant psychosocial consequence that negatively impacts the willingness of T1DM patients to engage in and profit from the health benefits of regular physical activity (e.g., cardiometabolic health, improved body composition, cardiovascular fitness, quality of life). Technological advances, improved insulin regimens, and a better understanding of the physiology of various types of exercise could help ameliorate FoH. This narrative review summarizes the available literature on FoH in children and adults and tools to avoid it.
Core Tip: Fear of hypoglycemia (FoH) is a major barrier to achieving recommended childhood and adult levels of physical activity (PA) in type 1 diabetes mellitus patients. The main factor associated with FoH is the frequency of hypoglycemia. The occurrence of hypoglycemia can be mitigated by well-defined recommendations on performing PA and maintaining euglycemia, implementing modern technologies and improved insulin regimens, educational programs, and social media information.
