Impact of Self-monitoring of Blood Glucose on Glycaemic Control in Type 2 Diabetic Nigerians who Reside in Lagos

Self-Monitoring of Blood Glucose (SMBG) is a vital constituent of diabetes care. The aim of this study was to document the practice, determinants and effects of SMBG in our setting. A cross-sectional study was carried out on 249 adult type 2 diabetic subjects who attended the diabetes clinic of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital Ikeja. The statistical analysis was done with independent t-test and logistic regression. A P-value of less than 0.05 was taken as significant. The age of the study subjects ranged from 28 years to 87 years. The mean + S.D age is 62 + 11 years. The mean + S.D BMI of the study subjects is 27.79 + 4.73 Kgm2. 159 (64%) of the patients practised SMBG while 90 (36%) patients did not. Twenty-two (14%) of the patients have been practising SMBG for less than 12 months, 71 (46%) patients for 12 - 36 months, while 60 (39%) of them for more than 36 months. 36 (23%) of the patients did SMBG daily, 58 (37%) patients twice weekly, 48 (30%) patients weekly, 11 (7%) patients monthly, 5 (3%) patients did it for unspecified time period while 1 (1%) patient was unable to report the time period. SMBG practice was associated with better short term glycemic control P= < 0.001, OR= 0.399 and 95% CI 0.229-0.693. Predictors of SMBG were male sex, higher socioeconomic status and insulin therapy. More male patients (72.7%) practice SMBG compared to female patients (59.9%) p-value 0.051. The detection of chronic complications of DM was comparable between those who practice SMBG and those who do not. SMBG practice is significantly associated with better short term glycaemic control.