The Cost of Self-Monitoring of Blood Glucose Is an Important Factor Limiting Glycemic Control in Diabetic Patients
- B.L. Gregoire Nyomba, MD, PHD,
- Lori Berard, RN, CDE and
- Liam J. Murphy, MB, FRCPC
- From the Diabetes Research Group, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada
Maintenance of near normoglycemia can delay or prevent microvascular complications, but it cannot be carried out without a program of patient education, including self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) (1,2). Motivation toward SMBG depends on several ill-defined factors, and there is no consensus on the effectiveness of SMBG in diabetes management (3–6).
We undertook a single-blinded, control-matched, longitudinal study of patients with insulin-requiring diabetes (n = 62) to examine barriers to SMBG and determine whether eliminating the cost barrier would increase SMBG frequency and glycemic control. Eligibility criteria were insulin treatment with at least two injections/day for at least 1 year (1), HbA1c >120% of upper limit of normal (2), and recent diabetes education (3). The patients completed questionnaires reporting their habitual SMBG frequency, perceived barriers to SMBG, monthly income, and any private health insurance plans to verify …
