Do dogs sense hypoglycaemia?

Weber, Katharina; Roden, Michael; Müssig, Karsten

doi:10.1111/dme.12975

Cited by 10 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…The use of continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion with insulin pumps has shown that the frequency of hypoglycaemia can be reduced, and increasing sophistication with the addition of insulin suspension has further lowered the risk of severe hypoglycaemia . Dogs that have been trained to identify the onset of hypoglycaemia have been shown to reliably detect diurnal and nocturnal hypoglycaemia episodes and improve the clinical and psychosocial outcomes in people with insulin‐treated diabetes . Lastly, various adjunctive therapeutic agents, including beta‐adrenoreceptor agonists, adenosine‐receptor antagonists (ie, theophylline), modafinil and caffeine, have been tried for the prevention and treatment of hypoglycaemia.…”

Section: Severe Hypoglycaemiamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…31,32 Dogs that have been trained to identify the onset of hypoglycaemia have been shown to reliably detect diurnal and nocturnal hypoglycaemia episodes and improve the clinical and psychosocial outcomes in people with insulin-treated diabetes. 33 Lastly, various adjunctive therapeutic agents, including betaadrenoreceptor agonists, 34 adenosine-receptor antagonists (ie, theophylline), 35 modafinil 36 and caffeine, 37 have been tried for the prevention and treatment of hypoglycaemia. Despite advancements in technology and therapeutics to reduce the occurrence of hypoglycaemia, severe hypoglycaemia remains a major concern of successful glycaemic management.…”

Section: Ways To Limit Hypoglycaemiamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Treatment and prevention of severe hypoglycaemia in people with diabetes: Current and new formulations of glucagon

Thieu

Mitchell

Varnado

et al. 2020

Diabetes Obesity Metabolism

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Some therapies for diabetes increase the risk of hypoglycaemia, in particular all insulins and insulin secretagogues, including the glinides and sulfonylureas. Hypoglycaemia remains a major limiting factor to successful glycaemic management, despite the availability of prevention options such as insulin analogues, continuous glucose monitoring, insulin pumps, and dogs that have been trained to detect hypoglycaemia. Non‐severe (self‐treated) and severe (requiring assistance for recovery) hypoglycaemia rates are higher in people with type 1 diabetes, but those with insulin‐treated type 2 diabetes are also at risk. Education and regular review are essential between people with diabetes and their caregivers and healthcare professionals about symptoms, prevention and treatment. Awareness of the potential dangers of hypoglycaemia is fundamental to the optimal management of diabetes. When therapy is intensified to achieve glycaemic targets, it is important that people at risk of severe hypoglycaemia, and particularly their caregivers, have ready access to effective treatment for hypoglycaemia emergencies. The current and potential formulations of glucagon available for treatment of severe hypoglycaemia are reviewed.

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Section: Severe Hypoglycaemiamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Ways To Limit Hypoglycaemiamentioning

confidence: 99%

Treatment and prevention of severe hypoglycaemia in people with diabetes: Current and new formulations of glucagon

Thieu

Mitchell

Varnado

et al. 2020

Diabetes Obesity Metabolism

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…There have been a growing number of studies of “Diabetic Alert Dogs” (see [7]). One small study showed that three dogs trained to work with their owners showed relatively low sensitivity (true positive rate) and specificity (true negative rate) when tested on remote skin samples [8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How effective are trained dogs at alerting their owners to changes in blood glycaemic levels?: Variations in performance of glycaemia alert dogs

Rooney

Guest²,

Swanson³

et al. 2019

PLoS ONE

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AimsDomestic dogs are trained to a wide variety of roles including an increasing number of medical assistance tasks. Glycaemia alert dogs are reported to greatly improve the quality of life of owners living with Type 1 diabetes. Research into their value is currently sparse, on small numbers of dogs and provides conflicting results. In this study we assess the reliability of a large number of trained glycaemic alert dogs at responding to hypo- and hyper-glycaemic (referred to as out-of-range, OOR) episodes, and explore factors associated with variations in their performance.MethodsRoutine owner records were used to assess the sensitivity and specificity of each of 27 dogs, trained by a single UK charity during almost 4000 out-of-range episodes. Sensitivity and positive predictive values are compared to demographic factors and instructors’ ratings of the dog, owner and partnership.ResultsDogs varied in their performance, with median sensitivity to out-of-range episodes at 70% (25th percentile = 50, 75th percentile = 95). To hypoglycaemic episodes the median sensitivity was 83% (66–94%) while to hyperglyaemic episodes it was 67% (17–91%). The median positive predictive value (PPV) was 81% (68–94%), i.e. on average 81% of alerts occurred when glucose levels were out of target range. For four dogs, PPV was 100%. Individual characteristics of the dog, the partnership and the household were significantly associated with performance (e.g., whether the dog was previously a pet, when it was trained, whether its partner was an adult or child).ConclusionsThe large sample shows that the individual performance of dogs is variable, but overall their sensitivity and specificity to OOR episodes are better than previous studies suggest. Results show that optimal performance of glycaemic alert dogs depends not only on good initial and ongoing training, but also careful selection of dogs for the conditions in which they will be working.

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“…An increasing number of people with diabetes are acquiring diabetic alert dogs (DADs) for hypoglycemia detection. Although the evidence demonstrating DADs’ ability to accurately detect hypoglycemia is limited and inconclusive, studies indicate that there are positive psychosocial outcomes, including decreased worry [ 49 , 50 ]. The first study to evaluate the objective reliability of DADs in a real-world environment found that despite the 12% positive predictive value, using DADs was feasible and participants were very satisfied with their dog [ 51 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Web-Based Study of Dog Ownership and Depression Among People Living With HIV

Muldoon¹,

Kuhns²,

Supple³

et al. 2017

JMIR Ment Health

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BackgroundPeople living with human immunodeficiency virus (PLHIV) are approximately twice as likely to be depressed compared with HIV-negative individuals. Depression is consistently associated with low antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence, an important step within the HIV care continuum related to HIV disease progression and overall health. One factor that may have positive psychosocial benefits and promote ART adherence is dog ownership. Research indicates that dog ownership is associated with lower depression, and initial evidence suggests its positive impact on psychosocial outcomes for PLHIV.ObjectiveThe aim of our study was to expand the existing research by examining the relationship between current dog ownership and depression for a sample of PLHIV while controlling for demographic characteristics and other potential confounders.MethodsParticipants aged 18 years or older and who self-reported an HIV diagnosis were recruited via social media into When Dogs Heal, a cross-sectional Web-based survey to collect data among adult PLHIV. The research visit was conducted via a Web-based survey, and there was no in-person interaction with the participant. Primary outcome measures included demographic questions (age, race, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation), pet ownership (type of pet owned and current dog ownership), depression (Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, 10 items), and resilience (Resilience Research Centre Adult Resilience Measure, 28 items).ResultsA total of 252 participants were enrolled into the study in January 2016, with a final analytic sample of 199 participants. Mean age was 49 years, 86.4% (172/199) of participants were male, and 80.4% (160/199) were white. Current dog ownership was prevalent among the sample (68.3%, 136/199). Bivariate analysis indicated that there was no significant relationship between depression and demographic characteristics (age, race, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation), with P>.05. The multivariate logistic regression, including age, race, ethnicity, gender, resilience, and current dog ownership, was significant, with P<.001. Of the 6 predictor variables, only 2 were statistically significant: dog ownership and resilience. Noncurrent dog owners had 3 times higher odds of depression in comparison with current dog owners: odds ratio 3.01; 95% CI 1.54-6.21.ConclusionsGrowing evidence suggests that dog ownership reduces the likelihood of depression and, therefore, may confer long-term health benefits on PLHIV. Future studies should explore whether dog-specific interventions are a feasible and efficacious intervention to improve outcomes among PLHIV.

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Do dogs sense hypoglycaemia?

Abstract: Further research is needed to confirm the preliminary data on the reliability and mechanism underlying the dogs' abilities to detect hypoglycaemia, and its impact on patient outcomes.

Cited by 10 publications

References 12 publications

Treatment and prevention of severe hypoglycaemia in people with diabetes: Current and new formulations of glucagon

Treatment and prevention of severe hypoglycaemia in people with diabetes: Current and new formulations of glucagon

How effective are trained dogs at alerting their owners to changes in blood glycaemic levels?: Variations in performance of glycaemia alert dogs

A Web-Based Study of Dog Ownership and Depression Among People Living With HIV

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