Effects of insulin-induced hypoglycaemia on cardiac function in people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes and people without diabetes

Therese Wilbek Fabricius*, Clementine Verhulst, Cecilie Hornborg Svensson, Malene Wienberg, Anthonie L. Duijnhouwer, Cees J. Tack, Peter L. Kristensen, Bastiaan E. de Galan, Ulrik Pedersen-Bjergaard, Hypo-RESOLVE Consortium

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Aims Cardiovascular disease is the most common complication and cause of death in people with diabetes. Hypoglycaemia is independently associated with the development of cardiovascular complications, including death. The aim of this study was to assess changes in cardiac function and workload during acute hypoglycaemia in people with and without diabetes and to explore the role of diabetes type, magnitude of the adrenaline response, and other phenotypic traits. Materials and Method We enrolled people with type 1 diabetes (n = 24), people with insulin-treated type 2 diabetes (n = 15) and controls without diabetes (n = 24). All participants underwent a hyperinsulinaemic-normoglycaemic-(5.3 +/- 0.3 mmol/L)-hypoglycaemic (2.8 +/- 0.1 mmol/L)-glucose clamp. Cardiac function was assessed by echocardiography, with left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) as the primary endpoint. Results During hypoglycaemia, LVEF increased significantly in all groups compared to baseline (6.2 +/- 5.2%, p < 0.05), but the increase was significantly lower in type 1 diabetes compared to controls without diabetes (5.8 +/- 3.4% vs. 9.4 +/- 5.0%, p = 0.03, 95% CI difference: -5.0, -0.3). In people with type 1 diabetes, Delta LVEF was inversely associated with diabetes duration (beta: -0.16, 95% CI: -0.24, -0.53, p = 0.001) and recent exposure to hypoglycaemia (beta: -0.30, 95% CI: -0.53, -0.07, p = 0.015). Hypoglycaemia also increased global longitudinal strain (GLS) in controls without diabetes (p < 0.05), but this did not occur in the two diabetes subgroups (p > 0.10). Conclusions Hypoglycaemia increased LVEF in all groups, but the increase diminished with longer disease duration and prior exposure to hypoglycaemia in type 1 diabetes, suggesting adaptation to recurrent hypoglycaemia. The increment in GLS observed in controls was blunted in people with diabetes. More research is needed to determine the clinical relevance of these findings.
Original languageEnglish
Number of pages9
JournalDiabetes Obesity & Metabolism
Issue number5
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 1 Mar 2025

Keywords

  • diabetes complications
  • heart failure
  • hypoglycaemia
  • type 1 diabetes
  • type 2 diabetes
  • ANTECEDENT HYPOGLYCEMIA
  • RESPONSES
  • SYMPTOMS
  • ADULTS
  • ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY
  • SENSITIVITY
  • MELLITUS
  • FAILURE
  • RISK

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