PLoS ONE (Jan 2023)

Psychometric properties of an innovative smartphone application to investigate the daily impact of hypoglycemia in people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes: The Hypo-METRICS app.

  • Uffe Søholm,
  • Melanie Broadley,
  • Natalie Zaremba,
  • Patrick Divilly,
  • Giesje Nefs,
  • Jill Carlton,
  • Julia K Mader,
  • Petra Martina Baumann,
  • Mikel Gomes,
  • Gilberte Martine-Edith,
  • Daniel J Pollard,
  • Dajana Rath,
  • Simon Heller,
  • Ulrik Pedersen-Bjergaard,
  • Rory J McCrimmon,
  • Eric Renard,
  • Mark Evans,
  • Bastiaan de Galan,
  • Thomas Forkmann,
  • Stephanie A Amiel,
  • Christel Hendrieckx,
  • Jane Speight,
  • Pratik Choudhary,
  • Frans Pouwer,
  • Hypo-RESOLVE consortium

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0283148
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 18, no. 3
p. e0283148

Abstract

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IntroductionThe aim of this study was to determine the acceptability and psychometric properties of the Hypo-METRICS (Hypoglycemia MEasurement, ThResholds and ImpaCtS) application (app): a novel tool designed to assess the direct impact of symptomatic and asymptomatic hypoglycemia on daily functioning in people with insulin-treated diabetes.Materials and methods100 adults with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM, n = 64) or insulin-treated type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM, n = 36) completed three daily 'check-ins' (morning, afternoon and evening) via the Hypo-METRICs app across 10 weeks, to respond to 29 unique questions about their subjective daily functioning. Questions addressed sleep quality, energy level, mood, affect, cognitive functioning, fear of hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia, social functioning, and work/productivity. Completion rates, structural validity, internal consistency, and test-retest reliability were explored. App responses were correlated with validated person-reported outcome measures to investigate convergent (rs>±0.3) and divergent (rsResultsParticipants' mean±SD age was 54±16 years, diabetes duration was 23±13 years, and most recent HbA1c was 56.6±9.8 mmol/mol. Participants submitted mean±SD 191±16 out of 210 possible 'check-ins' (91%). Structural validity was confirmed with multi-level confirmatory factor analysis showing good model fit on the adjusted model (Comparative Fit Index >0.95, Root-Mean-Square Error of Approximation ConclusionHigh completion rates and satisfactory psychometric properties demonstrated that the Hypo-METRICS app is acceptable to adults with T1DM and T2DM, and a reliable and valid tool to explore the daily impact of hypoglycemia.