To explore the frequency of hypoglycaemic episodes, their risk factors, and associations with patient-reported outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes enrolled in the PANORAMA cross-sectional study.

Five thousand seven hundred and eighty-three patients aged ≥ 40 years with type 2 diabetes duration ≥ 1 year were recruited in nine European countries. Patients reported severe and non-severe hypoglycaemic episodes during the past year at a single study visit. Patient-reported outcomes were measured by the Audit of Diabetes-Dependent Quality of Life, Diabetes Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaires, Hypoglycaemia Fear Survey-II, and EQ-5D Visual Analog Scale.

During the previous year, 4.4% of the patients experienced ≥1 severe hypoglycaemic episode; among those without severe hypoglycaemia, 15.7% experienced ≥1 non-severe episode. Patients experiencing any hypoglycaemic episode reported a greater negative impact of diabetes on quality of life, greater fear of hypoglycaemia, less treatment satisfaction and worse health status than those with no episodes. In multivariate analyses hypoglycaemia was significantly associated with longer diabetes duration; presence of microvascular and, to a lesser extent, macrovascular complications; treatment with insulin, glinides or sulfonylureas; and use of self-monitoring blood glucose.

In patients with type 2 diabetes, severe hypoglycaemic episodes were not uncommon and one in five experienced some form of hypoglycaemia during the previous year. Hypoglycaemia was associated with more negative patient-reported outcomes. The risk of hypoglycaemia increased with diabetes duration, presence of diabetes-related complications, use of self-monitoring blood glucose, insulin secretagogues, and insulin treatment.