This study investigated the neurobehavioral effects of mild and moderate hypoglycemia in adults with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM). On 2 consecutive days, 26 subjects were tested in a counterbalanced, randomized, single-blind, crossover design. On the experimental day, subjects performed tests at 6.4, 3.6, and 2.6 mmol/l and again after glycemic recovery to 6.3 mmol/l. On the control day, subjects performed tests four times at euglycemia. Three months after testing, 15 subjects repeated the experimental day protocol. Results demonstrated that both mild and moderate hypoglycemia significantly disrupted performance. However, performance deterioration varied substantially across individual subjects. Men exhibited significantly more deterioration than women at mild hypoglycemia, and subjects with a history of unconsciousness due to hypoglycemia exhibited more deterioration than subjects with no such history. Individual deterioration scores during repeat testing significantly correlated with performance during original testing. Recovery from hypoglycemia-related impairment varied across individuals and was correlated with degree of impairment during hypoglycemia. These results suggest that the glycemic threshold for onset and recovery from neurobehavioral deterioration with hypoglycemia, as well as degree of impairment experienced, varies across individuals. Furthermore, these individual differences are stable across time.
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
Original Articles|
December 01 1994
Individual Differences in Neurobehavioral Disruption During Mild and Moderate Hypoglycemia in Adults With IDDM
Linda A Gonder-Frederick;
Linda A Gonder-Frederick
Department of Behavioral Medicine and Psychiatry, University of Virginia Health Sciences Center
Charlottesville, Virginia
Search for other works by this author on:
Daniel J Cox;
Daniel J Cox
Department of Behavioral Medicine and Psychiatry, University of Virginia Health Sciences Center
Charlottesville, Virginia
Search for other works by this author on:
Naomi R Driesen;
Naomi R Driesen
Department of Behavioral Medicine and Psychiatry, University of Virginia Health Sciences Center
Charlottesville, Virginia
Search for other works by this author on:
Christopher M Ryan;
Christopher M Ryan
Department of Behavioral Medicine and Psychiatry, University of Virginia Health Sciences Center
Charlottesville, Virginia
Search for other works by this author on:
William L Clarke
William L Clarke
Department of Behavioral Medicine and Psychiatry, University of Virginia Health Sciences Center
Charlottesville, Virginia
Search for other works by this author on:
Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Linda A. Gonder-Frederick, Department of Behavioral Medicine and Psychiatry, Drawer F, Box BRH, University of Virginia Health Sciences Center, Charlottesville, VA 22901.
Diabetes 1994;43(12):1407–1412
Article history
Received:
May 21 1993
Revision Received:
August 25 1994
Accepted:
August 25 1994
PubMed:
7958491
Citation
Linda A Gonder-Frederick, Daniel J Cox, Naomi R Driesen, Christopher M Ryan, William L Clarke; Individual Differences in Neurobehavioral Disruption During Mild and Moderate Hypoglycemia in Adults With IDDM. Diabetes 1 December 1994; 43 (12): 1407–1412. https://doi.org/10.2337/diab.43.12.1407
Download citation file:
68
Views