Fear of hyperglycaemia in parents of children with type 1 diabetes mellitus – A multi‐centre multinational study

Abstract Aims Study aims: (1) developing and validating a novel questionnaire for measuring fear of hyperglycaemia among parents of children with type 1 diabetes (T1D) – the Hyperglycaemia Fear Survey – Parent version (FoHyper‐P); (2) investigating correlations between parental fear of hyperglycaemia and objective measures of glycaemic control. Methods A multi‐centre, multinational study of 152 parents of children with T1D was conducted in three large diabetes clinics from Israel, Poland, and Greece. Inclusion criteria were parents of children aged 6–16 years, at least 6 months from diagnosis, at least 3 months of CGM use and parental involvement in care. Parents filled the FoHyper‐P and the Hypoglycaemia Fear Survey – Parent Version (HFS‐P). Patient data were obtained via electronic medical records and informative questionnaires. Bonferroni correction was performed to counteract multiple comparisons. Results Significant strong‐moderate correlations were found between FoHyper‐P and HFS‐P including total questionnaires scoring ( r = 0.747, p Bonf < 0.001), worries subscales ( r = 0.735, p Bonf <0.001), and behaviour subscales ( r = 0.532, p Bonf <0.001). Using linear regression models, we found a positive association between the worry subscale and HbA1C. Weak correlations ( p < 0.05, not significant after Bonferroni correction) were found between time in range, time above range and parental fear of hyperglycaemia as well as between worry subscales and a higher HbA1C in the past year, percent of hyperglycaemia and lower TIR. Conclusions The FoHyper‐P is a novel, validated tool for assessing parental fear of hyperglycaemia. Integrating it into clinical practice addresses an underestimated aspect of parental diabetes management, enabling better care for children with T1D.