Self-Monitoring of Blood Glucose Among Adults With Diabetes—United States, 1997-2006

Abstract

Blood-glucose control is critical for managing diabetes and preventing diabetes-related complications such as cardiovascular disease, retinopathy, nephropathy, and neuropathy. In addition to recommending that patients with diabetes have a glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) measurement at least two times a year, the American Diabetes Association recommends self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) as an integral part of diabetes management for patients who are treated with insulin and as a useful component for achieving glycemic goals for patients who use oral medications or medical nutrition therapy. One of the Healthy People 2010 national objectives is to increase to 61% the proportion of persons with diabetes who perform SMBG at least once a day (objective 5-17). To estimate the rates of SMBG and to track the progress of states during 1997-2006, CDC analyzed data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) for that period. This report summarizes the findings of that analysis, which indicated that the proportion of adults with diabetes who check their blood glucose at least once a day increased at the national level, and 25 of the 38 states examined had statistically significant rate increases from 1997 to 2006. In 2006, the daily SMBG rate was 63.4% among all adults with diabetes and 86.7% among those treated with insulin. Collaborations to ensure adequate health insurance coverage, diabetes education and counseling to encourage more intensive medical care and self-management practices, and continued surveillance measures to track changes in SMBG rates are needed to improve and monitor SMBG trends.