Diabetes technology & therapeutics
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Diabetes Technol. Ther. · Nov 2011
Relationship between interstitial and blood glucose during hypoglycemia in subjects with type 2 diabetes.
Continuous glucose monitoring devices measure interstitial glucose and are commonly used to investigate hypoglycemia. The relationship between interstitial glucose and blood glucose is not completely understood, particularly at low blood glucose concentrations. Interstitial glucose during hypoglycemia is generally lower than blood glucose in young subjects without diabetes and those with type 1 diabetes, but the effect of insulin resistance and obesity in type 2 diabetes on this relationship has not been examined previously. We studied the relationship between blood and interstitial glucose during experimental hypoglycemia in subjects with type 2 diabetes treated with insulin or sulfonylureas and matched controls without diabetes. ⋯ In older subjects with or without type 2 diabetes, interstitial glucose is significantly higher than blood glucose, and this difference increases with increasing severity of hypoglycemia. Continuous glucose monitors may underestimate hypoglycemia in this group, and this should be taken into account when interpreting results obtained using this technology.