Trends in Intermittent Scanning Continuous Glucose Monitoring Usage in The Netherlands-An Opportunity for Elderly...

Background: Intermittent scanning continuous glucose monitoring (is-CGM) technology has gained widespread adoption and is known to improve glycemic control and quality of life for persons with diabetes. The elderly may lag behind in their adoption of the technology, which could be a potential avenue for improving quality of care. In this study, we investigated the adoption of is-CGM technology in the Dutch population, including effects of age. Methods: A retrospective observational study was performed using data from the Drug Information Project, a public database hosted by the Dutch National Health Care Institute. The database contained information concerning healthcare reimbursements from 2017 until 2022 and covered approximately 95% of the total population. Data concerning is-CGM and fast-acting insulin reimbursements were extracted, identifying actual and potential is-CGM users, who were subdivided into the categories 0-24, 25-44, 45-64, 65-74 and ≥75 years old. Results: From 2017 until 2022, is-CGM usage rapidly increased: from 38 to 82.050 actual users. The age categories 0-24 and 25-55 showed the highest is-CGM usage (62% and 84% of the potential population in 2022, respectively), and 65-74 and ≥75 the least (38% and 33%, respectively). However, the elderly had higher growth rates (+75% in the category ≥75 from 2021 to 2022) compared to the youngest (+54% in the category 0-24 in the same period). Conclusions: Data from this study demonstrate that the elderly lag behind in is-CGM adoption. Given the potential advantages of is-CGM for elderly persons with diabetes, we argue that strategies should be developed to address this (paradoxical) underutilization of is-CGM.