Home Tests May Not Help Some Diabetics

Testing blood sugar at home may not help people with type 2 diabetes, a study suggests. The study included 184 people who had just been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. They were divided randomly into two groups. One group was told to test blood glucose eight times each week. The other group was told not to test. Every three months, they received a blood test known as hemoglobin A1c in the doctor’s office. This is a way to measure long-term blood sugar control. The two groups had similar A1c levels. Also, people who did the home tests were more likely to become depressed than people who did not. The study was published April 17 in the British Medical Journal.