Blood glucose estimations in adolescents with type 1 diabetes: predictors of accuracy and error.

OBJECTIVE To examine predictors of blood glucose (BG) estimation accuracy and errors in adolescents with Type 1 diabetes. METHOD Seventy-eight adolescents (ages 11-19) rated their physical symptoms and estimated their BG prior to conducting daily BG tests. BG estimation data were subject to an error grid analysis. Hierarchical regression was used to identify predictors of BG estimation accuracy and errors. RESULTS The average participant made accurate BG estimations 37% of the time and clinically relevant BG estimation errors 24% of the time. Girls and older adolescents had higher BG estimation accuracy rates and lower BG estimation error rates than boys and younger adolescents. Higher BG variability was also associated with increased BG estimation errors. CONCLUSIONS Although boys, younger adolescents, and those with higher BG variability showed higher BG estimation error rates, most participants showed low rates of BG estimation accuracy and high rates of BG estimation error. Health providers may underestimate the frequency of inappropriate self-treatment as a result of patient difficulty in estimating BG accurately.