Use of Flash Continuous Glucose Monitoring Is Associated With A1C Reduction in People With Type 2 Diabetes Treated With Basal Insulin or Noninsulin Therapy.

Background: Glycemic control is suboptimal in many individuals with type 2 diabetes. Although use of flash continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) has demonstrated A1C reductions in patients with type 2 diabetes treated with a multiple daily injection or insulin pump therapy regimen, the glycemic benefit of this technology in patients with type 2 diabetes using nonintensive treatment regimens has not been well studied.

Methods: This retrospective, observational study used the IBM Explorys database to assess changes in A1C after flash CGM prescription in a large population with suboptimally controlled type 2 diabetes treated with nonintensive therapy. Inclusion criteria were diagnosis of type 2 diabetes, age <65 years, treatment with basal insulin or noninsulin therapy, naive to any CGM, baseline A1C ≥8%, and a prescription for the FreeStyle Libre flash CGM system during the period between October 2017 and February 2020. Patients served as their own control subject.

Results: A total of 1,034 adults with type 2 diabetes (mean age 51.6 ± 9.2 years, 50.9% male, baseline A1C 10.1 ± 1.7%) were assessed. More patients received noninsulin treatments ( = 728) than basal insulin therapy ( = 306). We observed a significant reduction in A1C within the full cohort: from 10.1 ± 1.7 to 8.6 ± 1.8%; Δ -1.5 ± 2.2% ( <0.001). The largest reductions were seen in patients with a baseline A1C ≥12.0% ( = 181, A1C reduction -3.7%, <0.001). Significant reductions were seen in both treatment groups (basal insulin -1.1%, noninsulin -1.6%, both <0.001).

Conclusion: Prescription of the flash CGM system was associated with significant reductions in A1C in patients with type 2 diabetes treated with basal insulin or noninsulin therapy. These findings provide evidence for expanding access to flash CGM within the broader population of people with type 2 diabetes.