On February 28, Maamoun Salam, MD; Janet B. McGill, MD, MA, FACP; and colleagues had their article titled, “A Comparison of Continuous Glucose Monitoring Estimated Hemoglobin A1c in Adults with Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes,” published in volume 25, issue 3 of Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics.
In their research, Drs. Salam, McGill and colleagues analyzed data from four clinical trials, consisting of 343 participants, in which around half of them have type 1 diabetes and the others have type 2 diabetes. They looked at the relationship between continuous glucose monitor (CGM)-measured mean glucose and laboratory-measured HbA1c in light of the diabetes type.
Their findings show that for a mean glucose, the HbA1c averaged higher in those with type 2 diabetes compared to those with type 1 diabetes, but the higher proportion of African Americans in the type 2 diabetes group mainly drove this difference. After stratifying by race, the mean glucose-HbA1c relationship showed only a small difference between type 1 diabetic non-African Americans and type 2 diabetic non-African Americans. The mean glucose-HbA1c relationship appeared similar for White non-Hispanic and Hispanic individuals.
The glucose management indicator (GMI) used in the current CGM reports is calculated based on the CGM-measured mean glucose. The authors conclude that the published GMI formula seems to be suitable and reliable regardless of the type of diabetes.
A Comparison of Continuous Glucose Monitoring Estimated Hemoglobin A1c in Adults with Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes. Maamoun Salam, Ryan Bailey, Peter Calhoun, Janet B. McGill, Richard M. Bergenstal, David Price, and Roy W. Beck. Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics 2023 25:3, 178-185. https://doi.org/10.1089/dia.2022.0387