Continuous glucose monitoring in non-insulin-dependent type-2 diabetes – rationale for CGM-NIDDM study

Type-2 diabetes is treated by general practitioners and diabetologists in a stepwise manner with an emphasis on lifestyle modifications. Glucose monitoring is mandatory to gauge the effect of lifestyle modifications or medical therapies in order to identify the need for therapy escalation, if treatment goals are not met. To date, three-monthly hemoglobin A1c measurements have been conducted for this purpose in the majority of non-insulin-dependent type-2 diabetes patients in Germany. Here, we review the role of continuous glucose monitoring in combination with nutrition counseling to offer a biofeedback. In addition, we present the rationale for a hypothesis-generating study that randomizes continuous glucose monitoring or no continuous glucose monitoring to the standard of nutrition counseling in individuals with prediabetes or non-insulin-dependent type-2 diabetes mellitus.