Self-monitoring of blood glucose helps patients with diabetes to manage their disease better

Self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) enables those with diabetes to modify their behavior, adjust their medicine and understand their disease to better manage it, according to a recent study, published by SAGE in The Diabetes Educator. The research looked at "paired testing," a self-monitored testing both before and after specific events, to evaluate whether it could assist the patient in making better health and food choice decisions over time.

In the study, sponsored by Roche Diagnostics through an unrestricted educational grant, healthcare professionals from various medical specialties collaborated to review current research regarding the value and utility of SMBG and formulate professional opinions regarding its use. With the goal of encouraging patients' active involvement in the control of their own disease, instead of just blindly following the edicts of their healthcare providers, researchers found that paired testing can be helpful to:

• provide immediate feedback regarding the impact of specific eating and exercise actions
• assess critical nuances of the disease to help the patient make the very best choices
• target specific meals to identify the impact of food choices on blood glucose levels
• detect differences between weekend and weekday schedules and habits
• learn what does and what does not work in the daily management of diabetes
• facilitate positive and healthy patient self-care behaviors

"Although the utility of SMBG in non-insulin-treated Type 2 diabetes remains controversial," write the authors in the article, "a recent report from the International Diabetes Federation recommends SMBG use in this population if it is used to educate/motivate individuals and/or monitor and adjust therapy. Healthcare providers must develop strategies to utilize SMBG in ways that address these criteria."