Background: To investigate the relationship between markers of overall glucose exposure, postprandial glucose excursions and glycemic variability in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Methods: Sixty three patients with T2DM (mean age of 56...
Background: To investigate the relationship between markers of overall glucose exposure, postprandial glucose excursions and glycemic variability in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Methods: Sixty three patients with T2DM (mean age of 56 years) were enrolled, and all wore a continuous glucose monitoring system (CGMS) for 72 hours. We investigated the interrelationships between markers of overall glucose exposure, markers of postprandial glucose excursions and glycemic variability parameters from a CGMS. Results: Spearman`s correlation analysis revealed a signifi cant correlation between all markers of overall glucose exposure and various parameters related to glucose excursion. Percent coeffi cient of variation (CV) showed the strongest correlation with the GA (r = 0.470, p < 0.01). In participants with HbA1c levels < 7.5% (n = 33), almost all of glycemic markers and glycemic variability parameters were signifi cantly correlated with each other. All postprandial glucose excursion parameters also showed signifi cant correlation with other glycemic markers. In participants with HbA1c levels < 7.5% (n = 33), all markers of overall glucose exposure showed signifi cant interrelationships with mean glucose, postprandial glucose excursion and glycemic variability parameters (except CV). However, in participants with HbA1c levels = 7.5% (n = 30), postprandial glucose excursion and glycemic variability parameters were not related with any chronic glycemic marker. Conclusions: The postprandial glucose excursions may explain the glycemic variability and the total glucose exposures in well-controlled diabetic participants.