Valuable option and excellent value-for-money

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8 Sep 2008 , Leverkusen : Blood glucose self-monitoring is the key to successful treatment of diabetes. It also helps to prevent complications of the metabolic disorder. In addition, self-monitoring represents excellent value for money. These are the conclusions reached by scientists from the Institute for Diabetes Research, Munich, Germany, in a recently published review (Schnell et al., Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics, Vol. 10, Supplement 1, 2008).

Blood glucose self-monitoring is generally considered standard practice in the treatment of type 1 diabetes. In recent years, studies and meta-analyses have increasingly confirmed the benefits of self-monitoring for patients with type 2 diabetes as well. For example, a large-scale retrospective epidemiological cohort study showed that the rates of non-fatal micro- and macrovascular complications were lower in type 2 diabetes patients who measured their blood glucose levels themselves, compared with patients who did not practice self-monitoring (7.2 versus 10.4 percent). The rates of fatal complications were also lower (2.7 versus 4.6 percent).

As the authors of the current review in Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics remark, blood glucose self-monitoring has a positive effect on the metabolic situation of type 2 diabetes sufferers regardless of whether their condition is being treated with oral antidiabetics on their own or in combination with insulin.

Self-monitoring also rates well in regard to cost. Although no analysis has been conducted into the proportion of the direct cost of diabetes treatment made up by blood glucose self-monitoring to date, it can be assumed that self-monitoring represents excellent value for money, according to the authors. In a major German epidemiological study, the cost of diabetes monitoring amounted to less than one percent of the total therapeutic costs.

The overall tendency in the current studies analyzed was that blood glucose self-monitoring is a valuable therapeutic option that represents excellent value for money, in particular if the following criterion is met: a baseline HbA1c value higher than 8 percent. In addition, patients must be trained in the use of blood glucose meters and know how to react to the measured values.

Bayer HealthCare, Diabetes Care
Bayer HealthCare, Diabetes Care supports customers in 100 countries and stands in a long tradition of leading the way in diabetes care product innovation since the introduction of CLINITEST reagent tablets in 1941. The face of diabetes care was changed in 1969 when the first portable blood glucose meter and test strips were introduced. Bayer HealthCare further innovated diabetes management by being the first company to introduce a suite of blood glucose monitors with No Coding™ technology. The BREEZE® and CONTOUR® blood glucose monitoring systems offer people with diabetes an unparalleled choice in diabetes management systems.
In July 2006, Bayer HealthCare Diabetes Care acquired Metrika Inc., maker and manufacturer of A1CNow+, a meter-based diabetes monitoring system for measurement of HbA1c (glycated hemoglobin) an important indicator of long term blood sugar control. Bayer HealthCare Diabetes Care global headquarters is located in Tarrytown, New York, in the United States and operates as part of Bayer HealthCare LLC, a member of the worldwide Bayer HealthCare group. The Headquarters for the region Europe-MERA is located in Basel as part of Bayer Consumer Care AG, in Basel.

Bayer HealthCare
Bayer HealthCare, a subsidiary of Bayer AG, is one of the world’s leading innovative companies in the health care and medical products industry. The company combines the activities of the Animal Health, Consumer Care, Diabetes Care and Pharmaceuticals divisions. The company's pharmaceuticals business operates under the name Bayer Schering Pharma AG.