Color discrimination and accuracy of blood glucose self-monitoring in type I diabetic patients.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the importance of color discrimination ability regarding accuracy in the self-monitoring of blood glucose.


METHODS
Two hundred two insulin-dependent (type I) diabetic patients performed the Fansworth-Munsell 100-hue test and a second group of 159 type I diabetic patients performed a new Düsseldorf 26-hue test. Error scores in both tests were compared with error scores of patients' self-monitoring of blood glucose measurements with Chemstrip Haemoglucotest 20-800 strips.


RESULTS
Color discrimination ability decreased with age, diabetes duration, and presence of retinopathy. It was independent of the degree of glycemia and accuracy of self-monitoring of blood glucose.


CONCLUSIONS
Impaired color vision by itself is no reason to abandon self-monitoring of blood glucose with visually read strips.
Sawicki
P T
PT
Department of Nutrition and Metabolism (World Health Organization Collaborating Center for Diabetes), Heinrich-Heine University of Düsseldorf, Germany.
Karschny
L
L
Stolpe
V
V
Wolf
E
E
Berger
M
M
D000328:Adult; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000032:analysis*; D015190:Blood Glucose Self-Monitoring; D003118:Color Perception; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000097:blood* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D005260:Female; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D011934:Reagent Strips
D001786:Blood Glucose; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin; D011934:Reagent Strips