Blood Glucose Self-Monitoring Increases 22% Among Adults with Diabetes

In 2006, over 63 percent of respondents checked their blood glucose at least once daily.  This surpassed the national health objective of 61 percent, as outlined in Healthy People 2010, a government framework for achieving specific health objectives by the year 2010.

Blood glucose is the main sugar that the body makes from the food we eat.  Blood glucose control is critical for managing diabetes and preventing diabetes-related complications such as heart disease, foot and leg amputation, and retinopathy, which can lead to blindness.

" People are taking better advantage of a tool that can aid in making critical decisions about how to treat their diabetes," said Liping Pan, lead author of the report. " Continued education about diabetes self-management can help ensure that people have the knowledge to continue – or start – taking steps to prevent or control diabetes."

CDC, through its Division of Diabetes Translation, funds diabetes prevention and control programs in all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia and seven U.S. territories and island jurisdictions. The National Diabetes Education Program, co–sponsored by CDC and NIH, provides diabetes education to improve the treatment and outcomes for people with diabetes, promote early diagnosis, and prevent or delay the onset of diabetes.

Source: Diabetes In Control