Flash Glucose Monitoring is Associated with HbA1c Improvement in Type 2 Diabetes Managed with Multiple Daily Injections of Insulin in the UK: A Retrospective Observational Study.

INTRODUCTION

There is a growing body of evidence demonstrating the benefit of flash glucose monitoring in people living with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). This real-world study aimed to evaluate the effect of initiating flash glucose monitoring on change in HbA1c after 3-6 months in adults living with T2DM treated with multiple daily injections of insulin.

METHODS

A retrospective observational study using data from ten clinical centres in the UK for adults with T2DM treated with multiple daily injections of insulin for at least 1 year was conducted. Patients who had been using the FreeStyle Libre/Libre 2 Flash Glucose Monitoring System for at least 3 months with baseline HbA1c 64-108 mmol/mol (8.0-12.0%) recorded up to 3 months prior to system use were included. Pregnant patients and those on dialysis were excluded. Patients with an HbA1c value measured 3-6 months after commencing flash glucose monitoring were included in the final analysis for evaluation of change.

RESULTS

In total, 87 patients were included in the final analysis (mean age, 60.0 ± 11.8 years, 60.9% male, mean body mass index (BMI), 31.6 ± 5.4 [mean ± SD]). From a mean baseline HbA1c of 80 ± 11 mmol/mol (9.5% ± 1.0%), HbA1c lowered by 11 ± 14 mmol/mol (1.0% ± 1.3%) at 3-6 months (p < 0.0001). A decrease was observed independent of age, baseline HbA1c, sex, duration of insulin use and BMI subgroups.

CONCLUSIONS

Initiation of flash glucose monitoring was associated with a clinically and statistically significant improvement in HbA1c in a real-world setting at 3-6 months.