Rate, Timing, and Severity of hypoglycemia in adolescents with Type 1 diabetes during ramadan fasting: A study with freestyle libre flash glucose monitoring system

Objectives: The objective of this study is to assess the frequency, timing, and severity of hypoglycemia in adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) during fasting the month of Ramadan. Patients and Methods: Twenty-five adolescents with T1DM who fasted Ramadan were monitored using the FreeStyle Libre^® flash glucose monitoring (FGM) system. Percentage and total duration of hypoglycemia were extracted from the FGM downloads, and the differences were compared between different times of the day and night according to the eating pattern in Ramadan. Results: Mean age was 16 ± 3 years and mean glycated hemoglobin was 8.6 ± 1.2%, mean glucose level was 200 ± 84 mg/dl (11.1 ± 4.7 mmol/L), and the overall time spent in hypoglycemia was 5.7% ±3.0%. The average daily time spent in hypoglycemia was 1.39 h per patient. The incidence of hypoglycemia was 0% from 19:00 to 23:00 pm and 69% from 11:00 to 19:00. Analysis of hypoglycemia revealed that 65% were between 61 and 70 mg/dl and 8% lower than 50 mg/dl. Conclusions: Hypoglycemia is typically encountered during the hours preceding Iftar time indicating an over-effect of basal insulin. Basal insulin reduction is necessary to minimize the risk of hypoglycemia

Key-words:

Adolescent diabetes - flash glucose monitoring - hypoglycemia - Ramadan fasting