Diabetes UK: Treatment must be on individual basis

Decisions about the management of diabetes must be made on an individual basis, Diabetes UK has said.

The charity's comments follow reports published in the British Medical Journal which questioned the value of self-monitoring of blood glucose levels and said it could increase feelings of anxiety and depression.

Diabetes UK care advisor Libby Dowling said that more than 95 per cent of diabetes care is self-management.

"For some people who control their type two diabetes without insulin, it may not be necessary to test their own blood glucose levels; however every person with diabetes is different so decisions must be made on an individual basis," she added.

Ms Dowling advised that self-monitoring must be accompanied by information to tell people how and when to test their glucose levels and when action should be taken.

"For many, self-monitoring informs the daily adjustments needed to effectively control diabetes. Poorly controlled diabetes can increase the risk of complications such as heart disease, blindness and stroke, so short term cost savings made by reducing the number of people self-monitoring could be dangerous for the individual and lead to higher costs for the NHS in the long term," she explained.

"In general, those who are self-monitoring are likely to be on more medication, have had type two diabetes for longer and may already have serious complications

"In addition, many people with diabetes are not sufficiently educated about self-monitoring. Any or all of these factors could lead to feelings of anxiousness and depression, but it is unlikely to be the actual self-monitoring alone that is the cause of them."