Diabetes technology has undergone a remarkable evolution in the past decade, with dramatic improvements in accuracy and ease of use. Continuous glucose monitor (CGM) technology, in particular, has evolved, and coevolved with widely available consumer smartphone technology, to provide a unique opportunity to both improve management and decrease the burden of management for populations across nearly the entire spectrum of people living with diabetes. Capitalizing on that opportunity, however, will require both adoption of and adaptations to the use of CGM technology in the broader world of primary care. This article focuses on mechanisms to expand pathways to optimized glycemic management, thereby creating a robust roadway capable of improving care across broad populations managed in primary care settings. Recent expansions in access to devices combined with improved mechanisms for data access at the time of primary care visits and improved training and evolving systems of support within primary care, hold potential to improve glycemic management in diabetes across the health care spectrum.
Glucose monitoring is essential for the management of type 1 diabetes and has evolved from urine glucose monitoring in the early 1900s to home blood glucose monitoring in the 1980s to continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) today. Youth with type 1 diabetes struggle to meet A1C goals; however, CGM is associated with improved A1C in these youth and is recommended as a standard of care by diabetes professional organizations. Despite their utility, expanding uptake of CGM systems has been challenging, especially in minoritized communities. The 4T (Teamwork, Targets, Technology, and Tight Control) program was developed using a team-based approach to set consistent glycemic targets and equitably initiate CGM and remote patient monitoring in all youth with new-onset type 1 diabetes. In the pilot 4T study, youth in the 4T cohort had a 0.5% improvement in A1C 12 months after diabetes diagnosis compared with those in the historical cohort. The 4T program can serve as a roadmap for other multidisciplinary pediatric type 1 diabetes clinics to increase CGM adoption and improve glycemic outcomes.
Objective: The prevalence of diabetes is higher in Black than in White individuals, and Blacks seek emergency department (ED) care for diabetes more often than Whites. This randomized controlled trial compared the efficacy of a novel intervention called the Diabetes Interprofessional Team to Enhance Adherence to Medical Care (DM I-TEAM) to usual medical care (UMC) to prevent return diabetes-related ED visits and hospitalizations over 12 months in 200 Black individuals with diabetes after an ED visit. The trial also identified baseline variables associated with return ED visits and hospitalizations.
Methods: The DM I-TEAM provided diabetes education and behavioral activation services delivered by race-concordant research assistants, telehealth visits with a diabetes care and education specialist and primary care physicians, and clinical pharmacist recommendations.
Results: Participants had a mean age of 64.9 years, and 73.0% were women. There was no treatment group difference in return diabetes-related ED visits or hospitalizations over 12 months (DM I-TEAM n = 39 [45.3%] vs. UMC n = 37 [38.5%], χ2 = 0.864, P = 0.353). Baseline variables that were associated with return diabetes-related ED visits or hospitalizations were longer duration of diabetes, higher number of chronic health conditions, higher number of previous ED visits or hospitalizations, greater anticholinergic medication burden, lower satisfaction with primary care physicians, and lower trust in physicians (all P ≤0.05).
Conclusion: Among Black individuals with diabetes, the DM I-TEAM interprofessional intervention was no better than UMC at preventing return diabetes-related ED visits or hospitalizations. High medical morbidity, greater anticholinergic medication burden, low satisfaction with primary care physicians, and physician mistrust were associated with diabetes-related ED visits or hospitalizations independent of treatment. Before clinical interventions such as the DM I-TEAM can be effective, reducing system-level barriers to health, improving physician-patient relationships and medication prescribing, and building community health care capacity will be necessary.
Objective: Diabetes knowledge is associated with health, including lower A1C levels. The Diabetes Knowledge Questionnaire (DKQ-24), developed 30 years ago for Mexican Americans with type 2 diabetes and since used with diverse samples in many countries, contains outdated items that no longer accurately assess current knowledge needed for diabetes self-management. We revised the DKQ-24 and tested psychometric properties of the DKQ-Revised (DKQ-R) with a diverse sample.
Methods: We conducted a five-phase instrumentation study as follows: 1) DKQ-24 items were revised to reflect current diabetes care standards; 2) the Delphi method was used to evaluate the DKQ-R's content validity (n = 5 experts); 3) cognitive interviews were conducted with people with type 2 diabetes (n = 5) to assess their interpretations of DKQ-R items; 4) cross-sectional administration of the DKQ-R to adults with type 2 diabetes was carried out to assess internal consistency reliability and convergent validity; and 5) an item analysis was conducted using discrimination index and point biserial analysis.
Results: After receiving the experts' feedback and conducting the cognitive interviews, 39 items were administered to 258 participants with type 2 diabetes (42.2% women; 29.1% Latino, 42.6% Asian, mean age 55.7 years). To select the final items, we considered the item discrimination index, as well as item-to-total correlations, content area, and participant feedback. The final 22-item DKQ-R uses the same yes/no/I don't know response format as the DKQ-24. The DKQ-R is strongly correlated with the DKQ-24 (r = 0.71, P <0.01) and is weakly correlated with diabetes numeracy (r = 0.23, P <0.01), indicating adequate convergent validity; a Kuder-Richardson-20 coefficient of 0.77 indicated good reliability.
Conclusion: The DKQ-R is a reliable and valid updated measure of diabetes knowledge for diverse populations with type 2 diabetes.
The ambulatory glucose profile is a valuable tool in managing type 1 diabetes during pregnancy. Time in range (TIR) in the third trimester is one of the most significant parameters contributing to good pregnancy outcomes. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of intermittently scanned continuous glucose monitoring (isCGM) empowered by education on glucose dynamics and to predict third trimester TIR. Data were retrospectively analyzed from 38 pregnant patients with type 1 diabetes (mean age 30.4 ± 6.4 years, BMI 23.7 ± 3.7 kg/m2, disease duration 15.4 ± 9.5 years, preconception A1C 6.9 ± 1%) who used a first-generation FreeStyle Libre isCGM system for at least 3 months before conception and had sensor data captured >70% of the time the system was used. Patients received personalized education on diabetes and on minimizing hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia using CGM trend arrows and frequent sensor scanning. This intervention improved glycemic parameters of glucose regulation (TIR, glucose management indicator, and mean glucose), hyperglycemia (time above range), glucose variability (SD and coefficient of variation [%CV]), and scanning frequency, but did not improve parameters of hypoglycemia (time below range and a number of low glucose events). Logistic regression analysis showed that the first trimester %CV and scanning frequency contributed to the third trimester TIR (P <0.01, adjusted R2 0.40). This study suggests that the use of isCGM empowered by personalized education improves glycemic control in pregnant women with type 1 diabetes. Scanning frequency and %CV in the first trimester predicts TIR in the third trimester, which could help clinicians intervene early to improve outcomes.