There are currently more than 8 million people with diabetes that are using continuous glucose monitors (CGM) to help with their day-to-day diabetes management. A CGM is a device that measures blood glucose levels and sends the readings to a display device or smartphone allowing patterns of glucose levels to be seen.
The CGM device enables us to see the ‘time in range’ data which can help show how the diabetes is managed. Time in range is the percentage of time that a person spends with their glucose levels within a target range.
Research suggests that a time in range above 70% significantly impacts health outcomes. Even a 5% change in time in range is significant, which is equal to one more hour per day in range. The higher the time in range, the lower the HbA1c, minimising both short and long-term health complications.
Battelino T, Danne T, Bergenstal RM, Amiel SA, Beck R, Biester T, Bosi E, Buckingham BA, Cefalu WT, Close KL, Cobelli C, Dassau E, DeVries JH, Donaghue KC, Dovc K, Doyle FJ 3rd, Garg S, Grunberger G, Heller S, Heinemann L, Hirsch IB, Hovorka R, Jia W, Kordonouri O, Kovatchev B, Kowalski A, Laffel L, Levine B, Mayorov A, Mathieu C, Murphy HR, Nimri R, Nørgaard K, Parkin CG, Renard E, Rodbard D, Saboo B, Schatz D, Stoner K, Urakami T, Weinzimer SA, Phillip M (2019) ‘Clinical Targets for Continuous Glucose Monitoring Data Interpretation: Recommendations From the International Consensus on Time in Range’, Diabetes Care, 42(8), pp. 1593-1603.