During the past decade, the proportion of adults with diabetes who check their blood sugar at least daily increased by 56%, and the proportion of adults with diabetes who reported having a cardiovascular disease condition dropped by 11%.

More Adults with Diabetes are Checking Their Blood Sugar at Least Once a Day

A recent CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Self-Monitoring of Blood Glucose Among Adults with Diabetes — United States, 1997–2006, found that self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) rates increased overall, in all age groups, and in most states.

Proportions of adults with diabetes who check their blood sugar at least daily were calculated from the question, “About how often do you check your blood for glucose or sugar?”

Main findings

In 2006, 63.4% of adults with diabetes checked their blood sugar at least once a day, exceeding the Healthy People 2010 objective of 61%.
During 1997–2006, the overall rate of SMBG increased 22.8 percentage points.
Rates increased across all the age groups.
From 1997 to 2006, two-third of the states had significant rate increases for SMBG, and no state had a significant decrease for SMBG.

Final messages

Collaborations with stakeholders in health care system, diabetes education and counseling, as well as continued surveillance efforts, are needed to maintain or further improve these favorable trends.

Citation

CDC. Self-Monitoring of Blood Glucose Among Adults with Diabetes — United States, 1997–2006. MMWR 2007;56(43):1133–1137.

Affiliations

Division of Diabetes Translation, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

Percentage of Adults with Diabetes Who Reported Having a Cardiovascular Disease Condition Dropped by 11%

In the same MMWR issue, the report Trends in Prevalence of Self-Reported Cardiovascular Disease Among Adults with Diabetes Aged 35 Years or Older, United States, 1997–2005, found that the percentage of adults with diabetes aged 35 years and older who reported having a cardiovascular disease (CVD) condition declined by 11%.

Proportion of adults with diabetes and CVD was calculated from survey questions asking respondents if they had ever been told by a health professional that they had diabetes, coronary heart disease, angina, a heart attack, any other kind of heart condition, or stroke.

Main findings

The number of people aged 35 years or older with self-reported diabetes who report having CVD increased from more than 4 million in 1997 to nearly 6 million in 2005. However, the rate of CVD among persons with diabetes decreased by 11%.
During 1997–2005, the rate of self-reported CVD among people with diagnosed diabetes aged 35–64 years declined significantly, but trends showed little change in the older age groups.
The rate of CVD decreased significantly among women with diabetes, and although it also decreased among men, this decrease was not statistically significant. The decrease in the rate of CVD was significant among blacks and almost reached statistical significance among whites.

Final messages

The decrease in the rate of CVD among people with diabetes aged 35 years may be due to, in part, declining rates of CVD risk factors, such as, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and smoking, and to increasing use of preventive therapies such as taking daily aspirin.
Despite favorable trends in some population groups, considerable opportunity for improvement exists. Continued interventions, such as cholesterol and blood pressure control, to reduce CVD risk factors among people with diabetes are needed to decrease the rate of CVD.

Citation

CDC. Prevalence of Self-Reported Cardiovascular Disease Among Persons Aged ≥35 Years with Diabetes — United States, 1997–2005

Affiliation

Division of Diabetes Translation, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

Page Last Reviewed: November 20, 2007
Page last modified: November 20, 2007
Content Source: National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
Division of Diabetes Translation

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