New Data Shows Benefits of Automated Insulin Delivery for Children and Teens

By June Dong and Kamren Khan

Data presented at the International Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Diabetes’ virtual conference highlighted increased time in range in children and teens using Tandem’s Control-IQ and Medtronic’s MiniMed 780G

New data shows that automated insulin delivery (AID) systems can be beneficial for children and teens with diabetes. At the International Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Diabetes’ virtual 2020 conference, exciting results were shared from young people using Control-IQ or MiniMed 780G hybrid closed-loop systems. Hybrid closed-loop systems are also called automated insulin delivery systems and are devices that uses a continuous glucose monitors (CGM) and smart algorithms to automatically adjust insulin delivery via a pump.

Real-world data on Tandem’s Control-IQ was collected from 1,428 youth with diabetes (ages 6 to 13). Control-IQ was just cleared for children ages 6 to 13 in June. Tandem’s Dr. Steph Habif shared the following data from a 30-day retrospective observation:

• Children using Control-IQ spent 14 more percentage points in range, on average, compared to the 30 days before starting the technology (53% to 67% Time in Range, or TIR). That’s an additional 3.4 hours per day in range.

• Time spent in hyperglycemia (above 180 mg/dL) dropped from 45% to 31% (a reduction of more than 3.4 hours per day). 

• Youth using Control-IQ spent 95% of their time in closed-loop mode (almost 23 hours per day). When not in closed-loop, this means the smart algorithm is no longer controlling insulin delivery based on CGM data and the device is in manual mode.

These improvements are similar to the increased time in range seen in adults using Control-IQ, showing that the benefits of Control-IQ are consistent across age groups.

Medtronic shared results on the performance of the MiniMed 780G in a data subset from trials presented at the ADA 2020 conference. The MiniMed 780G is Medtronic’s newest hybrid closed-loop system, which was recently cleared in Europe. A three-month study of 39 teenagers (ages 14 to 21) using the system found:

• Teens using the MiniMed 780G saw an overall average increase of 11 percentage points in Time in Range during the study period (62% to 73% TIR). This is 2.5 more hours each day in the target glucose range! Overnight TIR increased from 67% to 81%, and daytime TIR increased from 61% to 70%.

• Participants remained in closed loop 94% of the time (around 22.5 hours each day), on average. 

• Teens using the MiniMed 780G achieved lower A1C levels, reducing their A1C from 7.6% to 7.1% after three months. 

• The number of teens with a TIR above 70% tripled, and the numbers of teens with an A1C below 7% more than doubled. This occurred without an increase in time spent in hypoglycemia.

The MiniMed 780G is currently shipping in Europe, but has not yet been cleared in the United States.