The long‐term impact of glucose monitoring with the FreeStyle Libre on glycaemic control and hypoglycaemia awareness in people with type 1 diabetes: Insights from the Association of British Clinical Diabetologists national audit

• Published in: Diabetic medicine Vol. 40; no. 6; pp. e15070 - n/a
• Main Authors: Shah, Najeeb, Deshmukh, Harshal, Wilmot, Emma G., Patmore, Jane, Christian, Peter, Barnes, Dennis J., Walton, Chris, Ryder, Robert E. J., Sathyapalan, Thozhukat
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.06.2023
• Subjects: Blood Glucose; Blood Glucose Self-Monitoring - methods; Diabetes; Diabetes mellitus (insulin dependent); Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 - complications; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 - drug therapy; diabetes‐related distress; freeStyle libre monitoring; Glucose monitoring; glycaemic control; Glycated Hemoglobin; Glycemic Control; Hemoglobin; Humans; hypoglycaemia awareness; Hypoglycemia; Hypoglycemia - chemically induced; Hypoglycemia - epidemiology; Hypoglycemia - prevention & control; Hypoglycemic Agents - therapeutic use; Quality of Life; type 1 diabetes; type 1 diabetes; glycaemic control; freeStyle libre monitoring; diabetes-related distress; hypoglycaemia awareness
• ISSN: 0742-3071; 1464-5491
• DOI: 10.1111/dme.15070

Aims To investigate the change in glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c), hypoglycaemia awareness and diabetes‐related distress in people with type 1 diabetes (T1D) using FreeStyle Libre (FSL) over a 2‐year follow‐up period. Methods FSL user data from U.K wide hospitals collected during routine clinical care were analysed. People living with T1D were categorised into four groups based on the duration of follow‐up. Group I (< 1 year, n = 6940), group II (1 to 1.5 years, n = 662), group III (1.5 to 2 years, n = 385), and group IV (> 2 years, n = 642). The t‐test was used to compare the baseline and follow‐up HbA1c, GOLD score (a measure of hypoglycaemia awareness) and diabetes‐related distress scale (DDS score) (quality of life measure). Results The study consisted of 16,834 people, with follow‐up data available for 8,629 participants. The change in HbA1c, GOLD and DDS score from baseline within the follow‐up sub‐groups (group I vs group II vs group III vs group IV) was HbA1c (−6 vs −6 vs −4 vs −4 mmol/mol; p < 0.001) (−0.55 vs −0.55 vs −0.37 vs −0.37 %), GOLD score (−0.31 vs −0.45 vs −0.26 vs −0.42; p < 0.0001 group I, II, IV and p  0.07 group III), and DDS score(−0.59 vs −0.58 vs −0.63 vs −0.50; p < 0.001), respectively. Conclusions In people with T1D, FSL use resulted in a sustained improvement in HbA1c, hypoglycaemia awareness and diabetes‐related distress for over two years.