medwireNews: An observational study suggests that initiating flash glucose monitoring might lead to a reduction in symptoms of depression in people with insulin-treated diabetes.
The findings, published in BMJ Open Diabetes Research & Care, are based on data from 674 people in the prospective FLARE-NL registry (2016–2017), including 78.2% with type 1 diabetes and 14.5% with insulin-treated type 2 diabetes.
At baseline, the average Short Form-12 Mental Component Score (MCS) was 48.5, and 34.9% of the cohort had a score of 45 or lower, indicating the presence of depressive disorder.
However, during the first 6 months after starting flash glucose monitoring (intermittently scanned continuous glucose monitoring), the average MCS improved significantly to 50.7, and the proportion of people with depressive disorder fell to 30.0%. By 1 year, these had improved further to a corresponding 51.3 and 25.7%.
The improvements were seen in both men and women, and for all baseline glycated hemoglobin categories. There were significant improvements in people with depressive disorder at baseline, with numerical, nonsignificant increases in MCS from baseline to 1 year for those with higher baseline scores.
Lower MCS and younger age at baseline were the only significant predictors of MCS improvement over 1 year in a multivariable analysis.
Annel Lameijer and study co-authors from University Medical Center Groningen in the Netherlands say their data help to fill the gap in knowledge of depressive disorders in people using glucose monitoring technologies.
But they add: “Nevertheless, our findings should be interpreted with caution and its clinical relevance has to be proven in future studies.”
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