Glycemic Variability and Its Impact on Quality of Life in Adults With Type 1 Diabetes

Background:

There is evidence suggesting that glycemic variability reduces quality of life (QoL) in people with type 2 diabetes, but this association has not been explored in type 1 diabetes. We aimed to assess whether glycemic variability has an impact on QoL in adults with established type 1 diabetes using multiple daily injections (MDI) of insulin or continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII).

Methods:

Participants wore a blinded continuous glucose monitor for up to 5 days and completed the diabetes quality of life (DQOL) questionnaire. Glycemic variability measures were calculated using the EasyGV version 9.0 software. A correlation analysis was performed to assess whether there was a relationship between glycemic variability and measures of QoL.

Results:

In all, 57 participants with type 1 diabetes (51% male, 65% on CSII, 35% on MDI, mean SD] age 41 13] years, duration of diabetes 21 12] years, HbA1c 63 12] mmol/mol 7.9% (1.1)], body mass index 25.2 4.0] kg/m²) were included in the analysis. No significant associations between glycemic variability and DQOL total or subscale scores were demonstrated. The glycemic variability was significantly higher for MDI participants compared to CSII participants (P < .05 for all glycemic variability measures), but no significant difference in QoL between the 2 treatment modality groups was observed.

Conclusions:

Treatment with CSII is associated with lower glycemic variability compared to MDI. Despite this, and contrary to findings in type 2 diabetes, this study did not find an association between glycemic variability and QoL in adults with relatively well-controlled type 1 diabetes, irrespective of whether they are on MDI or CSII.