Adnkronos (Adnkronos) – From treatment adherence to daily lifestyle choices, positive feedback on the use of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) is growing, even in type 2 diabetes. Its widespread use, however, faces a lack of understanding of the technology and regional disparities in access. This is according to the new "Dexcom State of Type 2 Report: Global Access and Attitudes to Diabetes Technology," data from which were released by Dexcom, a pioneer and leader in CGM technology, at the 62nd Congress of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), in Milan until October 2.
The survey, conducted in 2026, involved over 800 healthcare professionals and 2.500 people with type 2 diabetes in 8 countries (Germany, Italy, Japan, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States) to analyze how experiences, knowledge, and attitudes toward the disease and monitoring technologies have changed over the past year.
Three key areas are addressed: the role of CGM in continuity of care and adherence, its integration with the latest therapeutic strategies, and the barriers that limit awareness and access to it—issues that also have specific implications in Italy. A statement states that 89% of healthcare professionals interviewed believe that CGM helps assess treatment adherence between appointments, and more than half of patients who use it report having followed their treatment plan more closely.
"CGM can create a closer link between the clinician's prescription and what happens every day in the life of a person with diabetes," says Basilio Pintaudi, a diabetologist at Niguarda Hospital in Milan and national councilor for the Association of Diabetes Doctors (AMD). "Continuously monitoring blood sugar trends allows you to better understand the effects of your choices and can promote adherence to the treatment plan.
It thus becomes a tool for continuity of care, which accompanies the person even outside of the visit." This development also concerns Italy, where the most recent SID-AMD recommendations have expanded the use of CGM in type 2 diabetes, including, in specific clinical conditions, also people not treated with insulin.
The report, it states, highlights a growing association between CGMs and GLP-1 receptor agonists: 58% of those taking these medications also use a CGM. The majority of those interviewed said they were willing to use it if recommended in conjunction with a GLP-1, while half of the professionals believed that the widespread use of these medications could encourage their adoption. "The association is of particular interest to those who also live with obesity, which currently accounts for approximately 40% of people with type 2 diabetes," Pintaudi emphasizes. "Monitoring how blood sugar responds to what you eat helps you be more aware of your food choices. Especially in the early stages of the disease, CGMs can also become a self-education tool: an added value that goes beyond simply reading your blood sugar data."
Among those already using CGM, the statement details, "satisfaction is high: 94% report managing their diabetes more independently, 93% consider it easy to use, and 91% use its data to guide their management decisions. However, significant barriers persist. Fifty-five percent of respondents reported limited knowledge of the technology, compounded by coverage and reimbursement challenges, reported by 90% of professionals in the United States and 53% in the other seven countries included in the study."
"In Italy, too, the indications for the use of CGM are increasingly broad, but the ability of regional healthcare systems to guarantee access is uneven," Pintaudi emphasizes. "It's a question of equity: benefiting from a technology shouldn't depend on where you live." But availability isn't enough: "There's a second level: healthcare professionals' awareness. To fully utilize CGM, you need to know how to interpret the information. Time in Range (the time spent with blood glucose levels within the range considered optimal), for example, isn't a simple percentage: even seemingly small variations can have significant clinical significance. Professionals must know what they can glean from it and how to use it to personalize treatment."
"The challenge is to transform innovation into a concrete opportunity for everyone who can benefit from it, accompanying the diffusion of CGM with high standards of quality, accuracy, and reliability," comments Nicoletta Grovale, Senior Medical Affairs Manager at Dexcom Italia. "True progress comes from personalizing care: each person has different needs and should be able to access the monitoring solution most appropriate to their clinical profile, to achieve better outcomes and a better quality of life."
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