In our study, the absence of any episodes of hypoglycaemia resulting in unconsciousness or seizures in a total of 809 patient-years of follow-up contrasts with data from patients with type 1 diabetes, in whom intensive insulin treatment administered via an external insulin pump or by three or more daily insulin injections resulted in an approximately three times increase in episodes of severe hypoglycaemia (16 vs five episodes per 100 patient-years) when compared with patients receiving conventional therapy with one or two daily insulin injections.27 Here, INS is linked to type 1 diabetes mellitus.