title: Impact of a guide dog on glycemia regulation in blind/visually impaired persons due to diabetes mellitus.
abstract: The aim was to assess glycemia regulation in a blind diabetic patient after getting a guide dog. Glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) results of a blind patient before and after getting the guide dog were retrospectively collected. The paired t-test results yielded a two-tailed P value of 0.0925, a difference considered not statistically significant; the 95% confidence interval of this difference varied from -0.2494 to 1.889. An improvement of glycemia regulation was observed with the guide dog compared to previous glycemia regulation, however, the difference was not statistically significant. The moderate improvement could probably be attributed to the mobility of the blind person having a guide dog. Standard quality of life tests should be included in the evaluation of diabetic blind persons, especially the impact of a guide dog on glycemic control or other chronic complications of diabetes.
authors.affiliation: University Department of Medicine, Split University Hospital Center, Split, Croatia. bettykorljan@vip.hr
authors.forename: Betty
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Korljan-Babić
authors.forename: Sanja
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Barsić-Ostojić
authors.forename: Zeljko
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Metelko
authors.forename: Nikica
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Car
authors.forename: Manja
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Prasek
authors.forename: Veselin
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Skrabić
authors.forename: Slaven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kokić
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000032:analysis*; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications; D003930:Diabetic Retinopathy / Q000097:blood / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D004285:Dogs; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D019987:Persons with Visual Disabilities / Q000534:rehabilitation*
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin