Aims: Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) may help detect early dysglycemia in Transfusion-Dependent Thalassemia (TDT) patients, though previous reports suggest it may overestimate prediabetes prevalence. This study analyzed glucose-related metrics in TDT patients with negative diabetes screening tests, compared with healthy controls. A secondary objective was to assess the association between TAR140 > 6 % and clinical/laboratory characteristics of patients.
Methods: Patients resulted negative to the screening tests for glucose disorders were compared to healthy controls using CGM system for 7 days.
Results: This study involved 39 participants (19 patients, 20 controls). HbA1c was falsely elevated in patients, despite normal mean glucose and GMI. Standard deviations and coefficients of variation were higher in patients than controls. No healthy control but 7/19 (37 %) TDT patients presented the interval TAR140 > 6 %. Significant differences were observed between "really euglycaemic" TDT patients (TAR140 ≤ 6 %) and "hyperglycemic" ones (TAR140 > 6 %) in terms of GMI, mean glucose and TAR140%. Comparing the glucose metrics of TDT euglycaemic patients (TAR140 ≤ 6 %) and healthy controls, no significant difference was reported. No differences in iron overload indexes were found between the hyperglycemia and euglycemia groups.
Conclusions: CGM reliably detects prediabetes in 37 % of TDT patients. TAR140 > 6 % may serve as a diagnostic cutoff.
Aims: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) with low-glucose alerts for preventing hypoglycemia in insulin-treated drivers with diabetes.
Methods: This single-center, open-label, randomized crossover study involved 30 insulin-treated participants with diabetes who drove cars at least thrice weekly in Japan. Participants underwent two 4-week periods: an alert period using CGM with active low-glucose alerts and a no-alert period using blinded CGM without low-glucose alerts, separated by an eight-week washout period. The primary outcome was the percentage of time below range (TBR; <3.9 mmol/L).
Results: Twenty-seven of the 30 participants completed the CGM analysis. Although the TBR did not differ between the alert and no-alert periods among all participants, it significantly decreased during the alert period compared with the no-alert period among the participants with type 1 diabetes (-4.4 [95 % confidence interval - 8.7, -0.08]%, p = 0.047). The incidence of low-glucose when driving was significantly lower during the alert period than during the no-alert period (19 % vs. 33 %, p = 0.041).
Conclusion: Low-glucose alerts improved the TBR in drivers with type 1 diabetes and reduced the incidence of low-glucose while driving among all insulin-treated drivers, suggesting that these alerts may ensure the safety of insulin-treated drivers.
Purpose: Growing evidence suggests the exercise timing, time-of-day it is performed, is important for maximizing glycemic benefits in type 2 diabetes (T2D). This randomized controlled trial investigated the impact of utilizing continuous glucose monitoring to personalise exercise timing on peak hyperglycaemia and cardiometabolic health in people with T2D.
Methods: Forty-two adults with T2D (HbA1c: 7.2 ± 0.8 %; Age: 63 ± 12 y; BMI: 29 ± 5 kg/m2) were randomized to eight weeks: i) waitlist control (CTL, eight week CTL then re-randomized to interventions), ii) 22-min daily exercise beginning ∼ 30 min before peak hyperglycemia (ExPeak) or iii) 22-min daily exercise ∼ 90 min after peak hyperglycemia (NonPeak). Time of peak hyperglycemia was pre-determined for each participant using the median of a 14-d habitual continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) period. Glycemic control (HbA1c [primary outcome], CGM), vascular function (flow-mediated dilation [FMD]), arterial stiffness, blood pressure) and body composition were assessed. Linear mixed models compared changes across time between groups.
Results: There was no intervention effect for HbA1c, however there was a significant interaction for changes in 24-h peak glucose and %FMD between groups. Compared to CTL, both intervention groups significantly lowered peak glucose (ExPeak: 95 %CI: -2.0 to -0.3 mmol/L, NonPeak: CI: -2.3 to -0.6 mmol/L) and %FMD increased (ExPeak: 95 %CI: 0.6 to 1.5 %, NonPeak: 95 %CI: 0.0 to 1.1 %). Adherence to interventions was high for both intervention groups (>90 %).
Conclusion: Prescribing exercise to target peak hyperglycemia did not improve HbA1c; however cardiometabolic health outcomes improved in both groups prescribed an exercise time compared to control. Personalizing exercise prescription by prescribing a time to exercise may be a novel approach to improve health outcomes and physical activity participation.
People with diabetes mellitus (DM) are at a higher risk (2 to 4 times) for cardiovascular (CV) death and atherosclerotic CV disease (ASCVD) than the general population. A multifactorial approach is recommended to reduce CV risk. Since low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) is a major causal and cumulative risk factor for ASCVD, the management of lipids is a fundamental element in global risk reduction. Intensive lipid lowering therapy (LLT), such as the addition of a proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 inhibitor (PCSK9i), to achieve LDL-C goals and reduce the risk of first or recurrent CV events in people with DM at very high CV risk (VHCVR) of ASCVD (i.e. acute coronary syndrome, coronary artery disease, peripheral artery disease) is often required. Alirocumab, a monoclonal antibody against PCSK9, as lipid-lowering therapy offers significant CV benefits and a favourable safety profile in people with DM and a VHCVR, with or without previous CV events. This review highlights the role of LDL-C in the complex pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, summarises the guidelines for CV risk reduction related to LDL-C in patients with DM and a VHCVR, and focuses on the role of alirocumab in managing LDL-C and consequent CV risk reduction in these patients.
Aims: To evaluate evidence describing a potential association between carbohydrate counting (CC) in type 1 diabetes and eating behaviours and/or disordered eating behaviour (DEB).
Methods: Systematic literature searches were conducted using MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, Web of Science,Scopus, and the trial register Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials.
Results: 37 articles were eligible for review, 28 measured CC, 26 provided evidence of an association between CC and eating behaviours or participants' relationship to food, and four provided evidence of an association between CC and disordered eating. Evidence suggests that patients using CC are less likely to score highly for DEB.
Conclusions: Measures of CC practise and adherence currently do not 1) consider the possible impact of the spectrum of CC strategies used within this cohort, which are often modified and personalised over time or, 2) consider that disordered eating in type 1 diabetes patients is often characterised by binge eating, restricted eating or insulin dose manipulation with inappropriate insulin-to-food calculations or the rejection of CC. Further research considering the range of insulin-to-food strategies practised and varying methods of CC education (particularly in early childhood), would be valuable in ascertaining associations between CC adherence and DEB.