Research

Researchers Present Ranges of Normal Glucose Levels Among Non-Diabetic Adults Wearing Continuous Glucose Monitors 

New continuous glucose monitoring sensors—small sensors that penetrate the skin to measure glucose levels in real time—are now hitting the wearables market for use among individuals without diabetes. Despite a lack of research showing that using these sensors improves health outcomes in individuals without diabetes, there is a growing interest among this population. To date, there have been no large studies describing normative glucose ranges for nondiabetics. 

“Many individuals without diabetes are becoming interested in using continuous glucose monitors and two major manufacturers of glucose monitoring sensors, Dexcom and Abbott, just launched products that can now be bought over the counter. It is important for people to know what the “normal” ranges of glucose levels are so they can interpret their own continuous glucose monitor data,” explains Nicole L. Spartano, PhD, assistant professor of medicine and corresponding author of a Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism study that found non-diabetic individuals using continuous glucose monitoring sensors spend a much larger period of the day with elevated glucose levels than was previously thought. Not only do these findings contribute to the understanding of the physiological glucose range of people without diabetes, but they also serve as a reference for both patients using these sensors and their clinicians. 

Middle-age and older adults from the Framingham Heart Study Third Generation wore the Dexcom G6 Pro for at least seven days on their arm or abdomen. The sensors measured glucose levels in the interstitial fluid (under the skin) every five minutes throughout their participation. They observed that normoglycemic participants (without traditional diabetes risk factors: elevated blood glucose or HbA1c) spent, on average, approximately three hours a day (12.1% of the time) with glucose levels >140mg/dL and many even experienced glucose levels >180mg/dL. Previous research from much smaller studies suggested that individuals with normoglycemia spent very little time above even the 140mg/dL glucose range.