Prevalence of self-reported symptoms attributed to hypoglycaemia within a general female population of the UK.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the prevalence of symptoms attributed to hypoglycaemia that are reported by a general female population of the UK.


METHODS
A health and well-being questionnaire, including questions relating to symptoms of low blood 'sugar', medical history and anthropometry, was administered by post to 2000 randomly selected women (17-50 years) in Nottinghamshire. To avoid biasing responses, participants were not made aware of the specific focus of the study.


RESULTS
One thousand one hundred and thirty-six women returned the questionnaire (56.8% response rate). After exclusions, 37.9% of respondents reported symptoms that they attributed to hypoglycaemia, with a median of four episodes reported per month. A significant variation in the reporting of symptoms was found across body mass index (BMI) categories, with the highest prevalence of symptomatic subjects being found at the lowest BMI range (P<.05).


CONCLUSIONS
More than a third of women in the UK report experiencing symptoms that they attribute to hypoglycaemia. Body mass index appears to be related to the experiencing of symptoms.
Simpson
Elizabeth J
EJ
School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Nottingham, UK. liz.simpson@nottingham.ac.uk
Holdsworth
Michelle
M
Macdonald
Ian A
IA
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015992:Body Mass Index; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007003:Hypoglycemia / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires