Diabetes

Treatment and Management

Additional Topics

Treatment at UPMC

Blood Glucose Monitoring

Complications

Education

Exercise & Physical Activity

Healthy Eating

Lifestyle Changes

Medications

Pregnancy Considerations

Staying Healthy

Transplantation

What to Do
When You're Sick

One key goal of diabetes treatment is blood glucose control.

Why is blood glucose control so important? Better blood glucose control means fewer complications. A very large research study, the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial, showed that people with type 1 diabetes who kept their blood glucose levels under control reduced their risk of developing eye, kidney, and nerve problems.

Another very large research study, the United Kingdom Prospective Diabetes Study, showed that good control of blood glucose and blood pressure helped people with diabetes reduce the risk of developing eye, kidney, heart, and blood vessel problems. The blood pressure that the American Diabetes Association (ADA) recommends is 130/80 or less.

Effective blood glucose control means keeping blood glucose levels within the ranges recommended by the ADA. The table that follows shows the recommended ranges.

	Normal	Goal	Needs to Improve if
Average fasting/before meal blood glucose	< 110 mg/dl**	80-120 mg/dl	< 80 or > 140 mg/dl
Average bedtime blood glucose	< 120 mg/dl	100-140mg/dl	< 100 or > 160 mg/dl
A1C (glycosylated hemoglobin)*	< 6%	< 7%	> 8%
	* three-month average ** mg/dl = milligrams glucose per deciliter of blood

You can work toward getting your blood glucose level in the recommended range by developing a self-management plan with the help of your diabetes health care team. The plan will may include medications; blood glucose monitoring; and lifestyle changes, including education.

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