Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2009 Jul 1;3(4):649-55.
doi: 10.1177/193229680900300405.

Arguments for and against the role of glucose variability in the development of diabetes complications

Eric S Kilpatrick  1
Affiliations
Review

Arguments for and against the role of glucose variability in the development of diabetes complications

Eric S Kilpatrick. J Diabetes Sci Technol. .

Abstract

There is now unequivocal evidence that improving glycemic control in both type 1 and type 2 diabetes reduces the likelihood of developing the micro- and macrovascular complications of the disease. However, it is still unclear whether a patient with very variable glucose is at any different a risk of these problems than someone who has the same mean glucose but much more stable glycemia. This article reviews the evidence that exists to both support and refute the claim that increased glucose variability should be regarded as an independent risk factor for the development of diabetic vascular disease.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. The Diabetes Control and Complications Trial Research Group. Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT): results of feasibility study. Diabetes Care. 1987;10(1):1–19. - PubMed
    1. The Diabetes Control and Complications Trial Research Group. The effect of intensive treatment of diabetes on the development and progression of long-term complications in insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. N Engl J Med. 1993;329(14):977–986. - PubMed
    1. UK Prospective Diabetes Study (UKPDS) Group. Intensive blood-glucose control with sulphonylureas or insulin compared with conventional treatment and risk of complications in patients with type 2 diabetes (UKPDS 33) Lancet. 1998;352(9131):837–853. - PubMed
    1. The Diabetes Control and Complications Trial/Epidemiology of Diabetes Interventions and Complications (DCCT/EDIC) Study Research Group. Intensive diabetes treatment and cardiovascular disease in patients with type 1 diabetes. N Engl J Med. 2005;353(25):2643–2653. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Holman R, Paul S, Bethel M, Matthews D, Neil H. 10-year follow-up of intensive glucose control in type 2 diabetes. N Engl J Med. 2008;359(15):1577. - PubMed