# Does Glycemic Variability Affect Complication Risk?

**URL:** <https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/does-glycemic-variability-affect-complication-risk/912>\
**Category:** Complications & More\
**Tags:** variability\
**Created:** [May 13, 2017, 12:27am UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/does-glycemic-variability-affect-complication-risk/912 "2017-05-13T00:27:46Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![TiaG](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/tiag/32/594_2.png) [@TiaG](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/TiaG)\
**Post date:** [May 13, 2017, 12:27am UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/does-glycemic-variability-affect-complication-risk/912/1 "2017-05-13T00:27:46Z")

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Short answer, at least according to this one study, is no:  
Glycemic Variability and Microvascular Outcomes in T1D  
Diabetes Care; ePub 2017 Apr 12; Lachin, et al

> **[Association of Glycemic Variability in Type 1 Diabetes With Progression of...](https://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/early/2017/03/28/dc16-2426.long)**
>
> OBJECTIVE The Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT) demonstrated the beneficial effects of intensive versus conventional therapy on the development and progression of microvascular complications of type 1 diabetes. These beneficial effects...

  
The one caveat is that this is using the DCCT study data, which is decades old, and most of these people were not using CGM at the time. Really wishing someone would do a similarly thorough trial with CGM data. Of course it would take 20-25 years for the results to reveal themselves 🙂

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**Author:** ![Michel](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/michel/32/387_2.png) [@Michel](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Michel)\
**Post date:** [May 13, 2017, 1:02am UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/does-glycemic-variability-affect-complication-risk/912/2 "2017-05-13T01:02:06Z")

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This seems so counter-intuitive. But possible. I have not read many studies that find a link between variability and complications (although I posted one recently, although not a cohort study: [Short-term Peaks in Glucose Promote Renal Fibrogenesis Independently of Total Glucose Exposure](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/short-term-peaks-in-glucose-promote-renal-fibrogenesis-independently-of-total-glucose-exposure/816)).

I would love to believe it is true, because my son is going through such a roller coaster of puberty peaks. But I have a feeling that, eventually, we will find a link. It is just hard to come up with such a study, because of the logistics of truly tracking variability.