Perceived Burdens and Benefits Associated With Continuous Glucose Monitor Use in T1D Across the Lifespan
CGMS as a technology has supreme benefits since it helps detect hypoglycemic episodes, glycemic variability and also aids in managing HbA1c. Inspite of its recommendation by the American Diabetes Association; the use is infrequent owing to multiple reasons. To study the benefits and barriers associated with the use of CGMS the research titled “Perceived Burdens and Benefits Associated with Continuous Glucose Monitor Use in Type 1 Diabetes Across the Lifespan” was conducted by Vidita Divan and colleagues and the summary of the article has been given below.
Objectives:
To perceive hindrances and benefits of CGM use in patients with type 1 diabetes and thereby compare it with non-users to commence targeted interventions to overpower any burdens and improve CGM uptake
Methods:
The cross-sectional study was administered between 2019 to 2020 to Type 1 diabetes patients. Questionnaire regarding Burdens of CGM (BurCGM) and Benefits of CGM (BenCGM) was employed to derive responses. Besides, the mean total score was independently calculated for the respective BurCGM and BenCGM instruments. SPSS was use to analyze the data statistically.
Findings:
Even though CGMS devices in combination with insulin pumps have been reported to lower diabetes distress; they have not been used adequately. While a majority of patients considered that CGM helped in managing diabetes easily, major concerns focused on the cost of the CGM since patients reported it being too expensive to use on a daily basis. Among non-users it was found that they found it painful to wear and another huge difference between users and non-users of CGM were the concerns regarding the blood glucose levels and the complexity in comprehending the CGM data. Apart from these findings, older patients need more training to utilize and interpret CGM data. Hence addressing the cost-concerns and delivering apt education to respective age categories could aid in better usage and understanding of the system.
Limitations:
It was a single-centre study where most of the participants were non-Hispanic white. The number of adult participants were limited. Besides the differences between scores of BurCGM and BenCGM users with respect to their race/ethnicity, CGM type could not be assessed. Furthermore,the individuals who rejected filling questionnaires were not evaluated.
Lastly, the data was taken during pre-covid era hence the Lastly, the data was taken during pre-covid time, the current data may differ.
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