The use of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) has led to large-scale models for tracking lifestyle data and improving mortality rates in people with diabetes. Using CGM data, patients can track their blood glucose levels and adjust their lifestyle behaviors in real time.
“About 20% [and] 25% of people, or 50 [to] “Seventy million people in the United States wear some kind of wearable device,” said Dr. Michael Snyder in a session titled “Integrating Wearables and Behavior to Improve Metabolic Health.”1
Key Takeaways
- Michael Snyder, PhD, and Peter Lieven, MD, shared their findings on the use of CGM to improve mortality rates in diabetic patients and how wearable devices can establish a disciplined lifestyle model.
- Snyder’s research showed how CGM data can highlight blood glucose curves, ultimately leading to data that can be easily interpreted for future lifestyle changes.
- Lieven’s findings highlighted that CGM use reduced mortality in both type 1 and type 2 diabetes patients compared to individuals not using a CGM device.
Aside from the use of CGMs to monitor blood glucose levels for people with diabetes, the prevalence of wearable devices like smartwatches and smart rings has made tracking overall metabolic data much easier. To demonstrate ease of use, Snyder presented his findings while wearing around seven different devices.
20% to 25% of people regularly wear some kind of wearable device. | Image credit: kitinut / stock.adobe.com
Also speaking at this session was Peter Lieven, MD, who gave a presentation titled “CGM and Mortality: Beyond Glycemic Control,” in which he discussed specific ways in which CGM can be used to improve mortality.2
Both researchers highlighted the continuously improving technology embedded in devices that can be worn daily and how the results can improve mortality rates and encourage individuals to improve their lifestyle.
Benefits of wearable device data
One of the main goals of Snyder’s research was to use CGM to identify metabolic sub-phenotypes, which can be predicted with CGM data using a patient’s blood glucose curve.
A patient’s blood glucose curve represents the changes in blood glucose levels over a period of time. In Dr. Snyder’s study, researchers looked at the blood glucose curves of 36 patients and found differences in each. Using these curves and CGM data, the researchers established metabolic sub-phenotypes and created specific guidelines for establishing various lifestyle changes for each patient.
For example, Snyder showed how giving nutritional shakes to patients using CGM can produce a variety of changes in blood sugar levels. He presented research data that highlighted how blood sugar levels can spike, dip, or plateau depending on the individual. As more data is recorded in real time with the goal of keeping blood sugar levels low, these data can lead to changes in an individual’s lifestyle, particularly in this case, eating habits.
Finally, Snyder explained the benefits of CGM compared to coaching for significantly improving the health outcomes of people with diabetes.
“I think it’s very difficult to scale things through coaches, that’s how we’re trying to manage it right now, but it’s not scalable. [to] “Millions of people are joining in. We think these apps are the right way to go and the CGM Plus app will make this happen,” he said.1
With real-time CGM data, patients and healthcare providers can develop individualized plans for how to interpret the data, use it to plan a better lifestyle, and make appropriate changes in the future.
Read more: Increased CGM use in low-income areas and a need for education
CGM use improves mortality
In Lieven’s study, researchers found that using CGM in patients with type 1 or type 2 diabetes (T1D, T2D) was associated with a significant reduction in mortality compared to patients who did not use a CGM device. What’s more, they found that the mortality reduction effect was greater the more frequent the CGM was used.
Using electronic health record data from the Department of Veterans Affairs on more than 10 million veterans, the researchers analyzed differences in mortality rates between patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes who use CGM compared with those who do not use the devices.
Researchers identified significant benefits of CGM, including sustained reductions in HbA1c, fewer hyperglycemia or hypoglycemia, and fewer hospitalizations in people with type 1 diabetes.2
They found that mortality rates for people with type 1 diabetes were reduced by 50% and for people with type 2 diabetes by 20%.
“Given the data that is beginning to accumulate through the use of CGM devices, [we’re] “We’re getting to the point where we’re more comfortable with the idea that this could be a great way to treat patients with a really broad-based approach and change their lives,” Lieven concluded.2
Read more: CGM Resource Center
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