Unveiling the Spectrum of Glucose Variability: A Novel Perspective on FreeStyle Libre Monitoring Data.

introductionSince the introduction of insulin therapy, it has become apparent that type 1 diabetes (T1D) is accompanied by long-term microvascular and macrovascular complications. In the context of the many benefits of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM), there remain opportunities to study the large amount of data now available in order to maximise its potential in the endeavour to reduce the occurrence of diabetes tissue complications in the longer term.

methodsContinuous glucose monitoring values were downloaded for 89 type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1D) individuals for up to 18 months from 2021 to 2023. Data for patient demographics was also taken from the patient record which included Sex, Date of Birth, and Date of Diagnosis. The recorded laboratory glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) test results were also recorded. The glucose management index (GMI) was calculated from average glucose readings for 18 months using the formula GMI (%) = (0.82 - (Average glucose/100)). This was then adjusted to give GMI (mmol/mol) = 10.929 * (GMI (%) - 2.15). Average Glucose Fluctuation (AGF) was calculated by adding up the total absolute change value between all recorded results over 18 months and dividing by the number of results minus one. The % Above Critical Threshold (ACT) was calculated by summing the total number of occurrences for each result value. A cumulative 95% limit was then applied to identify the glucose value that only 5% of results exceeded in the overall population. Using this value, we estimated the percentage of total tests that were above the Critical Threshold (ACT).

resultsThe mean age of the participants was 42.6 years, and the mean duration of T1D was 18.4 years. A total of 3.22 million readings were analysed, yielding an average blood glucose level of 10.3 mmol/l and a GMI of 57.2 mmol/mol. There was a strong correlation between GMI and measured HbA1c (r

conclusionsWe have shown here that the percentage glucose results above 18 mmol/l (top 5% of distribution) increased exponentially above 54 mmol/mol HbA1c. The %AVTD is introduced as a useful measure. Our data indicate that over the 24-h period, improvement in metabolic control could be focussed on the afternoon and evening, when there are higher-than-average levels of GMI, a higher-than-average degree of glucose change, and higher-than-average risks of being above the critical threshold. In conclusion, a measure of glycaemic variation based on the amplitude of glucose change to a population mean could be used to provide valuable clinical insights into glucose change over a 24-h period.