Blood sugar checks are beneficial for those with type 2 diabetes

the Oncology Nurse Advisor take:

Blood sugar self-monitoring benefits patients with type 2 diabetes even if they are not prescribed insulin, according to preliminary findings presented at the American Association of Diabetes Educators annual meeting in New Orleans, LA.

For the small study, researchers enrolled 11 patients with type 2 diabetes and worked with the patients to design personalized, structured self-monitoring blood glucose schedules.

Researchers then taught patients to react to their blood sugar level readings by performing certain interventions, such as going for a walk or eating less.

Results showed that the patients reduced their A1C levels from an average of 7.3% to 6.2% during the the study. The majority of patients received the most benefit from twice daily self-monitoring.

"Participants in this study said that sticking to a regular [self-monitoring] schedule really helped them to know where their blood levels were and take appropriate action, such as adding physical activity or choosing a healthy snack," study author Dana Brackney, a diabetes educator and an assistant professor of nursing at Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C., said.