Table 1.
Clinical characteristics and injection habits of the patients at enrollment
| Overall | LH+ | LH− | p-Value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subjects N (%) | 1160 | 487 (42.0) | 673 (58.0) | n.s. |
| Sex (M/F) | 552/608 | 284 / 203 | 273/401 | – |
| Age (years) | 60.6 ± 9.0 | 61.9 ± 5.6 | 60.1 ± 3.6 | n.s. |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 32.4 ± 3.5 | 31.4 ± 7.2 | 32.7 ± 5.6 | n.s. |
| Diabetes duration (years) | 15.8 ± 7.6 | 14.5 ± 5.2 | 15.6 ± 7.5 | n.s. |
| Insulin treatment duration (years) | 7.6 ± 2.2 | 7.2 ± 3.1 | 7.7 ± 2.5 | n.s. |
| Two injections/day N (%) | 112 (9.6) | 8 (1.6) | 104 (15.5) | 0.001 |
| Three injections/day N (%) | 348 (21.3) | 99 (20.3) | 249 (36.9) | 0.001 |
| Four injections/day N (%) | 700 (60.4) | 380 (78.1) | 320 (47.6) | 0.001 |
| Total daily insulin dose (IU) | 61.6 ± 12.3 | 65.5 ± 10.6 | 53.6 ± 9.5 | 0.05 |
| HbA1c % (M ± SD) | 8.4 ± 1.1 | 8.6 ± 1.6 | 7.3 ± 1.0 | 0.01 |
| Fasting plasma glucose (mg/dL) (M ± SD) | 151.6 ± 26.6 | 165.7 ± 22.4 | 133.6 ± 18.7 | 0.05 |
| Needle reuse N (%) | 538 (46.4) | 480 (98.5) | 58 (8.6) | 0.0001 |
| Missing site rotation N (%) | 501 (43.2) | 485 (94.0) | 16 (2.3) | 0.0001 |
| Ice-cold insulin injection N (%) | 650 (56.0) | 478 (98.1) | 172 (25.5) | 0.0001 |
| Injection into LH nodules N (%) | 464 (40.0) | 464 (95.3) | – | – |
| HYPOs N and (%) of patients affected | 332 (46.2) | 289 (59.3) | 46 (6.8) | 0.0001 |
|
Overall HYPOS (N) Mean range |
506 0–1.2 |
371 0–2.7 |
135 0–0.9 |
|
| Severe HYPOs N (%) | 287 (56.7) | 262 (70.6) | 60 (44.4) | 0.001 |
| Symptomatic HYPOs N (%) | 219 (43.3) | 109 (29.4) | 75 (55.5) | 0.001 |
| Nocturnal HYPOs N (% of total severe) | 126 (43.9) | 112 (42.7) | 5 (20.0) | 0.001 |
Data are presented as mean ± standard deviation (M ± SD) or frequencies (%). Nocturnal hypoglycemic episodes were only severe