Glucose Variations During Driving in People With Type 1 Diabetes Using a Continuous Glucose Monitoring System

Abstract

OBJECTIVE Hypoglycemic events during driving are life-threatening complications in people with type 1 diabetes (T1D). While preliminary studies showed increased glucose demand in driving simulations, we investigated interstitial fluid (ISF) glucose when driving under real-life circumstances. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We measured ISF glucose in 10 participants with stable T1D during a 2-h driving course using a continuous glucose monitoring system. RESULTS Our data show a driving-associated rise of ISF glucose. Initially increasing glucose was followed by decreasing values. Under control conditions at the same time of the day without driving, no specific glucose changes were observed. CONCLUSIONS Real-life driving may have caused an initial glucose increase followed by decreasing glucose values in this cohort with well-controlled T1D. These findings may be limited to the selected study population.