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Variance guidance

John_H

John_H

Active Member
Messages
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Hi All. Can anyone help with recommended BG variance? One measure that I’m familiar with is coefficient of variation, which I think is, standard deviation x 100/mean. I’ve just started plotting mine – the last few daily preprandial ones range between 14 and 40%. Early days, but <20% might be a good target to aim for?
 
It's a really cool concept (im a bit of math junkie), but you'd also need to factor in the margin of error on your meter. That can be as much as 10% (or more).

If you're doing it for fun, I can respect that, but there are many meter out there that can calculate this for you (on a more basic level).

Good luck!
 
SD is one aspect of diabetes management that doesn't get the attention it deserves IMHO.

In Gary Scheiner's book Think Like a Pancreas it has a good explanation on SD and how it should be interpreted, he says the following which is also in the link that I've provided:

"The standard deviation (SD) reflects the amount of variability in your readings. Lower is better. If the SD is more than half of your average, your readings include many extreme highs and/or lows. A SD that is less than one third of your average means that your readings are fairly consistent from day to day, without too many in the extreme ranges."

http://integrateddiabetes.com/Articles/gen/downloading meters for diabetes health.pdf
 
That's excellent. Many thanks for sharing the wisdom. I'm going to use <30% as another target for good control, along with aiming for 4 to 7 mmol/l. Piece of cake!
 
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