Four Out of Ten Are Not Testing Blood Sugars As They Should

A survey of 1,002 adults with type 1 and type 2 diabetes indicates that almost 4 out of 10 do not test as often as their doctor’s recommend.

Testing blood sugar levels is one of the most important things that people with diabetes can do to help manage their disease and live a healthy lifestyle. However, an Omnibus survey of 1,002 adults with type 1 and type 2 diabetes indicates that almost 4 out of 10 do not test as often as their doctors recommend. Respondents cited having to reprick (48%) and painful testing (43%) as the most commonly encountered problems while testing blood glucose levels.(1

Based on these national survey results, people with diabetes may consider a New Year’s commitment to better managing their diabetes by testing their blood glucose levels more often in order to stay healthy.

"There is no substitute for blood sugar monitoring. Testing is the best measure by which we can accurately determine the adequacy of our patients’ blood sugar control," said Dr. Henry Rodriguez, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Indiana University School of Medicine, and Director of the Pediatric Diabetes Clinical Program, James Whitcomb Riley Hospital for Children.

"Products that can help increase testing frequency by taking away their frustrations are very important. It can help people with diabetes live a healthier lifestyle and greatly enhance their ability to improve management of their diabetes."

According to the Omnibus survey, respondents listed the top five barriers to testing:

Having to reprick, painful testing, wondering if the test result is really accurate, difficulty drawing a large enough sample of blood and having to retest due to an error message

Another finding from the Omnibus survey was that 95% of respondents indicated they would switch brands if they could find a meter system that would reduce the pain of testing(1) (painful testing was listed as the second of the top five barriers to testing).

In addition to helping avoid painful repricking due to unsuccessful tests or error messages.

The Omnibus national survey also shows that patients have a desire to have integrated solutions that help them collect, analyze and act to help them manage their diabetes more easily, including:

* More than four in ten said they would be much more likely to buy a company’s products if the company offered meters, pumps and other products that work together to help manage diabetes (46%) and if it provided tools that make it easier to share test results with their doctors (45%)(1).

* More than half of insulin users (and 62% of those who test four or more times a day) said they would be much more likely to buy a company’s products if the company offered products and services to help them collect relevant information, analyze and act on it all for better self-management of diabetes(1).

A total of 1,002 insulin users completed the Omnibus survey July 14-19, 2005. The sample, selected from Synovate’s online Consumer Opinion Panel, was drawn from 3,400 households. Results for the total sample are accurate to within plus or minus 3%.

Roche Diagnostics

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DID YOU KNOW: Urinary albumin excretion and cardiovascular risk: Urinary albumin excretion rate (UAER) has been shown to be an independent cardiovascular risk factor in patients with or without diabetes. Intima-media thickness (IMT) has been shown to be a strong predictor of the risk of future vascular events. In a study of patients with type 2 diabetes, IMT was found to be independently and continuously related to UAER as well as to duration of diabetes. The data provide support for an association between even marginal elevation of UAER and coronary death, and suggest that a lower threshold for the definition of microalbuminuria in patients with type 2 diabetes may be useful for identifying high-risk patients for aggressive treatment. Diabetic Medicine,22 (1558-1565): Keech A, Grieve S, Patel A, Griffiths K, Skilton M, Watts G, Marwick T, Groshens M, Celermajer D Urinary albumin levels in the normal range determine arterial wall thickness in adults with type 2 diabetes: a FIELD substudy