Adults with type I diabetes, once called juvenile diabetes, can better control their disease by using a device that continually monitors their blood sugar levels, according to a new study published online by the New England Journal of Medicine.

Continuous glucose monitors allow patients to monitor their blood sugar on an ongoing basis and to adjust their insulin injections as needed. The monitor is attached to a sensor that is inserted just beneath the surface of the skin and is programmed to sound an alarm if blood sugar levels rise or fall to dangerous levels.

Researchers studied 322 adults and children at 10 different research centers across the United States. Over a period of 26 weeks, half of the study participants used continuous glucose monitoring systems and the other half relied on traditional glucose monitoring where the patient tested blood sugar levels several times a day using blood from a finger prick. The researchers found that, among patients 25 years of age and older who used continuous glucose monitoring, blood sugar levels fell by about 0.5%. Although this decrease may seem small, every percentage-point drop in blood sugar levels may reduce the long-term health complications of type I diabetes by about 40%.

Continuous glucose monitoring did not seem to benefit children or participants between the ages of 15 and 24. The researchers stated that further work was needed to identify and address this lack of effectiveness.