A higher number of elderly people coupled with the increasing prevalence of diabetes arising from an unhealthy lifestyle, poor diet, excess alcohol consumption, and lack of physical activity, is driving the adoption of blood glucose devices across the globe. Incepted in the 1970s, blood glucose meters are typically designed for use by healthcare professionals. However, devices capable of self-monitoring first came into existence in 1980. Since then, these devices have been quintessential for managing blood glucose levels in the human body, and have improved in speed, accuracy, and reliability, and reduced in size as well.
Growing incidence of diabetes is one of the primary reasons for the significant expansion of the self-monitoring blood glucose devices market. Causes of diabetes vary based on genetic makeup, family history, ethnicity, health, and environmental factors. There is no common diabetes cause that fits every type of diabetes. The reason there is no defined diabetes cause is that the causes of diabetes vary depending on the individual and the type.
Typically, type 1 diabetes is caused by the immune system destroying the cells in the pancreas that make insulin. This causes diabetes by leaving the body with limited insulin supply to function normally. This is called an autoimmune reaction, or autoimmune cause since the body is attacking itself. Causes of type 2 diabetes, on the other hand, are usually multifactorial as more than one cause is involved. Often, the most overwhelming factor is a family history of type 2 diabetes. This is the most likely type 2 diabetes cause.
There are a variety of other potential diabetes causes. These include pancreatitis or pancreatectomy, which increases the risk of developing diabetes, polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), which is linked to obesity-linked insulin resistance. Cushing’s syndrome also increases the production of the cortisol hormone, which serves to increased blood glucose levels. Patients with glucagonoma also experience diabetes because of a lack of equilibrium between levels of insulin production and glucagon production.
Not only type 1 diabetes, but people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes are also offered self-monitoring of blood glucose as part of their self-management education. It is generally recommended that healthcare professionals should make patients understand the purpose of monitoring their blood glucose levels and then suggest the course of action upon interpreting the results. Self-monitoring of plasma glucose is also made available to individuals with type 2 diabetes and on insulin treatment or oral glucose-lowering medicines, to provide information on hypoglycemia.
Medical practitioners also opine that self-monitoring should be made available for patients who need to assess changes in glucose levels. Self-monitoring blood glucose devices are also beneficial for medical practitioners who considerably depend on the data generated from these devices to suggest any alteration in medication and lifestyle as well as for monitoring changes during or after the illness. Doctors believe that the use of self-monitoring blood glucose devices should continue and in a structured way to help patients suffering from diabetes lead a controlled life.
Most devices available in the market are now smaller in size compared to many mobile telephones, allowing for discreet testing. Owing to the considerable popularity of blood glucose monitoring devices, medical professionals support patients with diabetes based on advice from these machines.
