Diabetics Benefit From More Frequent Monitoring

A study suggests that people with diabetes could do well to monitor their blood sugar more than twice a day. A team at John Hopkins University shows a link between elevated blood sugar of more than 150 milligrams per deciliter and complications. They look at previous evidence covering nearly 10,000 people with diabetes and learned that every one per cent rise in blood sugar was linked to an 18 per cent increase in heart disease complications.

This suggests that blood sugar control is as important, or more important, than other risk factors for heart disease. Therefore it might be helpful if those with diabetes monitor their blood sugar more often – perhaps more than twice a day. This is challenging, perhaps, but blood sugar more than 150 mg/dL should be avoided for long periods of time.
Annals of Internal Medicine 21st September 2004

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FACT:
The 2002 mortality statistics show a dramatic increase in deaths due to diabetes mellitus in Canada. Deaths due to diabetes were up nearly 11 percent over 2001, and nearly 75 percent over 1992. The total number of deaths due to diabetes mellitus in Canada in 2002 was 7,800. CDA