Effect of Continuous Glucose Monitoring on Hypoglycemia in Older Adults With Type 1 Diabetes A Randomized Clinical Trial

Source: Journal of the American Medical Association

Key Takeaway: Older populations are more prone than younger populations to severe hypoglycemic episodes, which in turn contribute to dementia, risk of falls, glycemic variability, and mortality. To study whether CGM could reduce hypoglycemia incidence, Pratley and colleagues performed a randomized clinical trial that compared the effect of CGM (n = 103) with BGM (n = 100) in older adults (median age, 68 years) with type 1 diabetes in 22 diabetes centers across the US. The primary outcome was reduction in hypoglycemia (glucose <70mg/dL) over 6 months. Results showed that the median time in hypoglycemia was reduced from 73 minutes to 39 minutes per day in the CGM group compared with no change (from 68 minutes to 70 minutes per day) in the BGM group, an adjusted between group reduction of 27 minutes per day (95% CI, −40 to −16 min/d). Additionally, the median percentage of time with blood glucose levels below the range for severe hypoglycemia (glucose <54mg/dL) reached the goal per international guidelines (<14min/d in older adults). Moreover, only 1 severe hypoglycemic event (glucose <54mg/dL) occurred in the CGM group vs 10 in the BGM group, with 5 of those events involving seizure or loss of consciousness. 83% of participants in the CGM group used CGM at least 6 days per week during month 6 and the results did not differ by level of cognitive impairment, education level, or age. In summary, CGM reduced the time spent in the severe hypoglycemic range, which has health care use, mortality, morbidity, and economic benefits.