Back to glossary
Metabolism

Glucose variability

DEGlukosevariabilität

Reviewed by

Glucose variability quantifies the magnitude and frequency of blood glucose fluctuations over hours and days, typically expressed as standard deviation, coefficient of variation, or mean amplitude of glycemic excursions (MAGE). High variability is implicated in oxidative stress, endothelial dysfunction, and diabetic complications independent of mean glucose. In non-diabetic adults, lower variability correlates with better metabolic health, and continuous glucose monitoring increasingly tracks it as a longevity-relevant biomarker.

Sources

  1. Hirakawa Y, Arima H, Zoungas S, Ninomiya T, Cooper M, Hamet P, et al.. (2014). Impact of Visit-to-Visit Glycemic Variability on the Risks of Macrovascular and Microvascular Events and All-Cause Mortality in Type 2 Diabetes: The ADVANCE Trial. *Diabetes Care*doi:10.2337/dc14-0199
  2. Kovatchev B. (2019). Glycemic Variability: Risk Factors, Assessment, and Control. *Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology*doi:10.1177/1932296819826111