Under-the-Skin Blood Sugar Monitor Boosts Diabetes Control

For patients 15 to 24 years old, the difference between the groups was not significant, primarily because the younger patients were less likely to use the equipment continuously, the researchers found.

Among patients 25 years of age and older, continuous blood sugar monitoring was used by 83 percent of participants for six days or more per week. For younger patients, only 30 percent of those 15 to 24 used continuous monitoring, as did 50 percent of those aged 8 to 14.

Greater compliance with glucose monitoring among the younger patients comes with parental involvement, Beck said.

"Getting better control of diabetes using continuous glucose monitoring is almost certainly likely to equate with fewer long-term complications," he noted. "This will have substantial long-term benefit on quality of life and reduce health care costs," Beck said.

Based on these findings, he believes that continuous blood sugar monitoring should become a normal practice for type 1 diabetics and that insurance companies should start paying for the device.

Continuous glucose monitoring among people with type 2 diabetes has not yet been tested, Beck said. However, for type 2 diabetics who rely on insulin it may prove beneficial, he added.

Dr. Stuart Weiss, an endocrinologist at New York University Medical Center and a clinical assistant professor at NYU School of Medicine, New York City, believes the technology will eventually be used by all diabetics.

"As someone who has been using continuous glucose monitoring for a long time, I think it's wonderful that studies are coming out to support its use," Weiss said. "It really is a great tool," he said.

For people with type 2 diabetes, continuous glucose monitoring can be helpful, Weiss said. It especially helps patients understand which foods significantly alter their blood sugar, he said.

"If you don't test, you don't know," Weiss said. "The more you test, the more you know."

More information

For more about diabetes, visit the American Diabetes Association.

SOURCES: Roy W. Beck, M.D., Ph.D., Jaeb Center for Health Research, Tampa, Fla.; Stuart Weiss, M.D., endocrinologist, New York University Medical Center, and clinical assistant professor, NYU School of Medicine, New York City; Sept. 8, 2008,New England Journal of Medicine