Brief Use of CGM May Enhance Lifestyle Awareness in T2D
Short-term use of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) provided valuable insights into lifestyle factors affecting blood glucose levels in people with type 2 diabetes (T2D) who were not on insulin therapy, particularly in those with a diabetes duration of less than 5 years.
METHODOLOGY:
CGM is an effective strategy for managing blood glucose levels in people with non-insulin-treated T2D; this study focused on the insights gained regarding lifestyle factors affecting blood glucose levels over a 2-week period of usage.
Participants with non-insulin-treated T2D across 20 cities in Denmark received a single CGM device during a walk-in setup, with minimal guidance provided during device installation.
They used the CGM device for a maximum of 14 days.
Baseline questionnaires were completed onsite, with follow-up surveys sent via email after 2 weeks and after 3 months.
TAKEAWAY:
A total of 724 participants completed the second questionnaire sent after 2 weeks.
Of these, 80% found CGM highly useful and informative for managing T2D.
Participants with a diabetes duration of less than 5 years engaged in more daily scans (80% vs 71%) and reported greater insights into the effects of lifestyle on glucose levels — including food (88% vs 78%), portion sizes (80% vs 60%), and physical activity (65% vs 55%) — than those with a diabetes duration of more than 5 years.
Education level did not significantly affect the knowledge gained from CGM usage.
At the 3-month follow-up, 50% of participants reported maintaining behavioral changes based on their CGM experience.
IN PRACTICE:
"These insights may encourage long-term behavioral changes, potentially leading to improved glycemic control," the authors wrote.
SOURCE:
The study was led by Emma Munch Nielsen, Glostrup, Denmark. It was presented by Tanja Thybo, Glostrup, Denmark, on June 20, 2025, at the 85th Scientific Sessions - American Diabetes Association, held at the McCormick Place Convention Center, Chicago.
LIMITATIONS:
No limitations were discussed in the abstract.
DISCLOSURES:
No funding details were disclosed. Three authors disclosed relationships with Abbott.
This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Type 2 diabetes patients set for major shake-up in care
People with type 2 diabetes in England are to get the biggest shake up of care in a decade which could see them offered treatments, including jabs that aid weight-loss, sooner. The health service should move from a one-size-fits-all approach of starting everyone on the same medication, to more personalised care that aims to prevent complications like heart failure and heart attacks, according to new draft guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice). This includes making newer type 2 diabetes drugs, known as SGLT-2 inhibitors, a first-line treatment option in a move that could eventually help save tens of thousands of lives. SGLT-2 inhibitors, which include canagliflozin, dapagliflozin, empagliflozin, and ertugliflozin, are once-a-day tablets that reduce blood sugar levels by helping the kidneys remove glucose, which is passed from the body through urine. However, analysis by Nice found these drugs are under-prescribed. The new guidelines recommend patients who cannot tolerate metformin – the first-choice in type 2 diabetes medication – should start with an SGLT-2 inhibitor on its own. The decision comes after evidence suggested these drugs protect the heart and kidneys as well as controlling blood sugar, Nice said. It is estimated the change could save almost 22,000 lives once uptake reaches 90% of the population. Nice also suggests some groups of patients would also benefit from GLP-1 receptor agonists such as liraglutide or semaglutide sooner, rather than keeping them for the later stages of treatment. Semaglutide, sold under the brand name Ozempic, is licensed in the UK to treat type 2 diabetes, while its other brand – Wegovy – is also used by the NHS to help obese people lose weight. Professor Jonathan Benger, deputy chief executive and chief medical officer at Nice, said: 'This guidance means more people will be offered medicines where it is right to do so to reduce their future risk of ill health. 'This represents a significant evolution in how we approach type 2 diabetes treatment. 'We're moving beyond simply managing blood sugar to taking a holistic view of a person's health, particularly their cardiovascular and kidney health. 'The evidence shows that certain medicines can provide important cardiovascular benefits, and by recommending them as part of initial treatment, we could help prevent heart attacks, strokes and other serious complications before they occur. 'This is particularly important given that cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in people with type 2 diabetes.' Around 4.6 million people in the UK are living with diabetes, with nine in 10 of those having type 2. However, it is estimated that a further 1.3 million people may have undiagnosed type 2 diabetes. Nice analysed the records of 590,000 people and found SGLT-2 inhibitors are under-prescribed, particularly to women, older people, and black patients. Prof Benger added: 'The evidence from our analysis is clear. There are prescribing gaps that need to be addressed. 'The guideline update published today will help to increase equitable uptake of SGLT-2 inhibitors, which we know can prevent serious health complications.' Dr Waqaar Shah, chairman of the guideline committee, added: 'We know that SGLT-2 inhibitors are currently under-prescribed, and our health economics analysis shows that people living in the most deprived areas would particularly benefit from universal access to these treatments. 'These recommendations could help reduce health inequalities while providing better outcomes for everyone.' Elsewhere, the draft guidance suggests different treatments for diabetes patients with certain characteristics or health conditions. These include adults with cardiovascular disease, who should be offered a triple therapy including a GLP-1 receptor agonist. Meanwhile, adults diagnosed with type 2 diabetes before 40 should be offered dual therapy before a GLP-1 receptor agonist is considered, while patients with chronic kidney disease should have tailored recommendations based on their kidney function. A public consultation on the new Nice guidelines is open until October 2. Douglas Twenefour, head of clinical at Diabetes UK, said: 'This long-awaited announcement propels type 2 diabetes treatment into the 21st century. 'Boosting access to newer treatments will be transformative for people with type 2 diabetes, while ensuring the UK keeps pace with the global momentum in treating the condition. 'The majority of people with type 2 diabetes are not currently taking the most effective medication for them, putting them at risk of devastating diabetes-related complications. 'Diabetes is a leading cause of cardiovascular disease, and tailoring treatment based on individual risk could protect thousands against heart attacks and kidney disease. 'These guidelines could go a long way to easing the burden of living with this relentless condition, as well as helping to address inequities in type 2 diabetes treatments and outcomes.'
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Doctors are seeing more non-smokers, especially women, with later-stage lung cancer
TORONTO — Katie Hulan's family doctor thought she might have asthma. Her cough, which had started about a month and a half earlier, was getting progressively worse. So he gave her some puffers to try, but they didn't work. "I was just getting to the point where I couldn't speak at work," said the 37-year-old tech marketing manager. "At the end of the day, I would be in pain just from the shaking and coughing." Her doctor ordered an X-ray that showed a mass on her lung. "(My doctor) said to go to emergency, thinking it was a blood clot," Hulan remembers. After about six hours of more tests, they told her she had stage 4 lung cancer. "That was one of the most devastating moments of my life," she said. "My immediate reaction was, 'I know how this story ends.' And so for me, it just felt completely like a death sentence." She had been healthy, active and didn't smoke. "For me to get a cancer diagnosis was a big shock. And then to have a lung cancer diagnosis was very puzzling for me," said Hulan, who was diagnosed in Toronto in late 2020 and has since moved to Victoria where she continues treatment. She's one of a growing number of non-smokers doctors are seeing with lung cancer. Although smoking remains the leading risk factor, the Canadian Cancer Society estimates about a quarter of lung cancer cases in the country are non-smokers. In addition, more of those non-smokers are women than men and it's not clear why, said Jessica Moffatt, vice-president of programs and advocacy at the Lung Health Foundation. "One of the theories is that potentially estrogen is doing something to perpetuate tumour growth, but it's all theories at this point," she said. What scientists do know is that environmental factors contribute to lung cancer risk, especially radon gas. According to Health Canada, long-term exposure to radon — an invisible, radioactive gas from the breakdown of uranium in soil and rocks — is the number one cause of lung cancer among non-smokers. The agency says radon is present to some degree in every home and urges everyone to get a radon test kit to check their levels. Other risk factors include exposure to second-hand smoke, asbestos and the fine particulate matter in air pollution, Moffatt said. As wildfires rage across the country, the effects of that smoke is "a huge concern for us" and is an area being studied to determine lung cancer risk, she said. Dr. Rosalyn Juergens, a medical oncologist at McMaster University and Hamilton Health Sciences Centre, said studies have shown that people living in areas with high air pollution rates have a higher risk of developing lung cancer. Over about 20 years in practice, she has "absolutely" seen a rise in non-smoking lung cancer patients. "It was uncommon for me, not never, but uncommon for me, to see a never-smoker when I first started in practice. And we are definitely seeing more and more," said Juergens, who is also the president of Lung Cancer Canada. It's not clear whether there are more non-smokers getting lung cancer or if they just make up a greater proportion of the patients as fewer people smoke than ever before, she said. Many of her non-smoking patients are women, but people simply aren't aware of lung cancer as a women's health issue, she said. When non-smokers reach her office, their cancer is often in advanced stages. "More women will die of lung cancer than will die of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and cervical cancer combined," Juergens said. "One in five of them will be people who have never touched a cigarette a day in their lives." Although organized lung cancer screening programs have been running in British Columbia, Ontario and Nova Scotia since 2022, they only target smokers, so non-smokers don't get the benefit of that early detection. In addition, lung cancer is often not top-of-mind for primary-care providers when non-smoking patients come in with a cough, Juergens said. "The tricky part about lung cancer is symptoms are generally very subtle, right? Your lungs inside don't have nerve endings. So it's not like you're going to get a pain. You're never going to feel a lump," she said. But the good news for many patients, Juergens said, is that lung cancer treatment has advanced dramatically since the 1990s, when chemotherapy was often the only option. "We do things called next generation sequencing on the vast majority of lung cancers, and that helps us to sort what exact type of lung cancer it is and pick the right treatments," she said. That precision medicine turned Katie Hulan's initial life expectancy of six months into an average of five to six years. A biopsy showed that her cancer had an ALK genetic mutation — one of about a dozen biomarkers that have specific medications to target the cancerous cells, and is only present in about four per cent of cases. "When I got that news, it felt like a 180. I had life. I had hope. You know, my oncologist sat down and said, 'you won the lottery, you have years,'" she said. Almost five years after her diagnosis, Hulan continues to take a pill as her treatment, never had to undergo chemotherapy, feels "wonderful" and is determined to live a long, full life. She now does advocacy work for the Lung Health Foundation to call for equal access to targeted cancer medication across the country and to urge people to seek medical attention if they have a cough that lasts more than two or three weeks. "I think the word on the street is that you have to be a person who has smoked and that's not at all the case," she said. "Anyone with lungs can get lung cancer." This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 18, 2025. Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content. Nicole Ireland, The Canadian Press

Forbes
4 hours ago
- Forbes
Best Online RN-To-B.S.N. Programs Of 2025
Pro Tip For RNs with limited work experience, choosing a program that requires a clinical placement can help develop hands-on skills working with patients. This can increase job prospects after graduation. An RN-to-B.S.N. program can help you take your nursing career to the next level. Choosing the right one requires taking time to consider top priorities. Do you want to study full time or part time? Would synchronous or asynchronous classes work better for you? And of course, you must make sure the program you want to attend is authorized to enroll students in the state where you live. Consider Your Future Goals Before you choose a program, it's important to know why you're pursuing a B.S.N. 'This is a very personal decision based on an individual's ultimate goals and what they expect to achieve with the additional education,' says Adriana Glenn, director of the RN-to-B.S.N. program at George Washington University. For example, do you plan to end your nursing education with a B.S.N., or might you want to pursue a graduate nursing degree to become a nursing administrator or pursue other advanced roles in the field? If you think you'll pursue graduate education, choose a program that meets common eligibility requirements for Master of Science in Nursing or Doctor of Nursing Practice programs. It might also be in your benefit to find a school that offers graduate nursing degrees, as well as an RN-to-B.S.N. program. Also, consider whether the program requires a clinical placement. Many RN-to-B.S.N. programs do, but not all. Some may waive the requirement in recognition of hands-on nursing experience held by many RNs. If you haven't worked as a nurse for long, a program with a clinical placement can help you get more real-world experience with patients. Pursuing a B.S.N. can provide a lot of value to RNs, especially as it increasingly becomes the standard in the nursing industry. 'I would say based on my experience and reading their narratives (for a course I teach) and having candid discussions, that well over 95% of RN-B.S.N. students are quite happy they went on to obtain their B.S.N.,' Glenn wrote in an email to Forbes Advisor. She explains, 'RN-B.S.N. students have shared with me that they feel more empowered and fulfilled in their role as a staff RN and they understand much more about healthcare systems and the importance of health promotion, policy and advocacy. I have never had anyone express regret; only feelings on occasion of being overwhelmed with work and school.' Understand Your Expenses and Financing Options Per-credit tuition for the programs on our list ranges from $105 to $1,200. Most RN-to-B.S.N. programs require around 30 credits, though the total number of credits required to earn your bachelor's degree can vary based on how many transferrable college credits you already have and whether you need to take electives or other courses to meet your school's graduation requirements. The National Center for Education Statistics reports average undergraduate tuition and required fees at four-year institutions in the U.S. cost $17,709 in the 2022-23 school year. Fill out the FAFSA as soon as possible to see if you qualify for federal student aid like loans, grants and scholarships. Schools and nursing departments also frequently provide their own aid to students. RNs can also pursue scholarships from professional organizations such as the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, and you might check whether your employer offers any type of tuition assistance.



