Blood glucose testing in the community: Who are the users and do they have elevated blood glucose?

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: On-the-spot blood glucose testing is a health service performed in public spaces to raise diabetes awareness and screen for elevated blood glucose levels. AIM: To describe the users of this service and the frequency of detecting elevated blood glucose. METHODS: Data collected at point-of-testing on a standardised form over 20 months in two regions of New Zealand were audited. Descriptive and simple inferential statistics report on population demographics and presence of elevated blood glucose (mmol/L). RESULTS: Data from 2156 individuals were audited. Most (1680, 78%) were female, the mean age was 52 years (standard deviation 18 years) and all major ethnic groups and socioeconomic quintiles were represented. For 53% of responders, this was their first blood glucose test. In total, 153 (7.1%) cases with elevated blood glucose were identified, including 94 who did not report a previous pre-diabetes or diabetes diagnosis. Blood glucose was not correlated with socioeconomic status (r = 0.04; P = 0.07), but weakly correlated with age (r = 0.19; P < 0.001). Blood glucose values did not appear to differ between ethnicities (P = 0.052). Men had a higher mean value than women (P = 0.003). People with elevated blood glucose access their general practitioner more often than people with normal blood glucose, irrespective of a diabetes diagnosis (P = 0.002). DISCUSSION: On-the-spot blood glucose testing is a health service accessed by a wide range of people, although more commonly by women than men. Future interventions targeting men may better engage them in health screening. Alongside awareness raising, on-the-spot community testing identified previously unknown elevated blood glucose levels at a rate of 1-in-22, and may lead to the earlier identification and treatment of prediabetes or diabetes.