Diabetes: glycaemic control in type 1

INTRODUCTION: Type 1 diabetes occurs when destruction of the pancreatic islet beta cells, usually attributable to an autoimmune process, causes the pancreas to produce too little insulin or none at all.

METHODS AND OUTCOMES: We conducted a systematic review and aimed to answer the following clinical questions: What are the effects of intensive treatment programmes, psychological interventions, and educational interventions in adults and adolescents with type 1 diabetes? What are the effects of different insulin regimens or frequency of blood glucose monitoring in adults and adolescents with type 1 diabetes? We searched: Medline, Embase, The Cochrane Library, and other important databases up to February 2010 (Clinical Evidence reviews are updated periodically; please check our website for the most up-to-date version of this review). We included harms alerts from relevant organisations such as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

RESULTS: We found 42 systematic reviews, RCTs, or observational studies that met our inclusion criteria. We performed a GRADE evaluation of the quality of evidence for interventions.

CONCLUSIONS: In this systematic review, we present information relating to the effectiveness and safety of the following interventions: different frequencies of insulin administration (continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion compared with multiple daily subcutaneous insulin injections), different frequencies of blood glucose self-monitoring (including continuous blood glucose monitoring compared with intermittent/conventional monitoring), educational interventions, intensive treatment programmes, and psychological interventions.