Background: Continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) are widely used for individuals with diabetes mellitus, particularly those with type 1 diabetes (T1D). Advancements in CGM technology allow for glycemic assessment without capillary glucose measurements as many come factory calibrated. However, exercise, an essential component of diabetes care, has been reported to alter accuracy of earlier generation CGM. Considering the importance of physical activity for individuals with T1D and the progression of CGM technology, we aimed to investigate the accuracy of the Dexcom G6 during physical activity.
Methods: Adolescents (ages 13-20 years) exercised on a treadmill for 40 minutes, with a 10-minute break at minute 20. We obtained paired CGM and glucometer measurements before and every 10 minutes during and after exercise. Accuracy analysis was determined by mean absolute relative difference (MARD), mean absolute difference (MAD), and Clarke Error Grid Analyses.
Results: Mean absolute relative difference and MAD increased during exercise (14%-33% and 24.3-34 mg/dL) but improved after exercise. We noted certain CGM locations produced greater changes in accuracy as MARD and MAD increased markedly when the CGM was on the buttocks (18%-46% and 30-41 mg/dL). We also noted decreased odds of Zone A in the Clarke error grid when the CGM was on the buttocks compared to the abdomen (odds ratio [OR]: 0.146; P = 0.0003; 95% CI = 0.052-0.415).
Conclusions: This CGM system showed alterations in accuracy during exercise. Our findings additionally suggest interstitial fluid changes in muscles during exercise alter accuracy of CGM; however, additional research is required.
Keywords: accuracy; continuous glucose monitoring; exercise; physical activity; type 1 diabetes; youth.