Abstract

Objectives: New methods are pivotal in accurately predicting, monitoring, and diagnosing the clinical manifestation of type 1 diabetes (T1D) in high-risk children. Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) is a valuable tool for patients with T1D, but there is still a knowledge gap regarding its utility in the prediction of diabetes. The current study explored whether 10-day CGM or CGM during an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) performed in the laboratory or at home (home-OGTT) could be accurate in detecting stages of T1D.

Research Design and Method: Forty-six subjects 4–25 years of age carrying genetic risk for T1D were recruited and classified into the following groups: islet autoantibody (IAb) negative, one IAb, and stages 1–3 of T1D, based on the laboratory OGTT and IAb results at baseline. A 10-day CGM was initiated before the OGTT.

Results: In this study, we showed that CGM was sensitive in detecting asymptomatic individuals at stage 3, and dysglycemic individuals in stage 2 of T1D both during OGTT and the 10-day period. CGM also showed significant differences in several variables during the 10-day sensoring among individuals at different stages of T1D. Furthermore, CGM showed different OGTT profiles and detected significantly more abnormal OGTT results when compared with plasma glucose.

Conclusions: CGM together with home-OGTT could detect stages of T1D and offer an alternative method to confirm normoglycemia in high-risk individuals.