Real-time continuous glucose monitoring systems are crucial for diabetes care but may show limited accuracy during physical activity. At EASD 2025, researchers presented a head-to-head comparison of three real-time glucose monitors—next-generation integrated CGM, factory-calibrated flash CGM, and simplified adhesive CGM—in adults with type 1 diabetes.

The study involved 20 participants who wore all three sensors during a three-day in-lab phase with structured exercise sessions and a four-day home phase. Glucose readings were compared against reference measurements from a blood glucose meter.

Both next-generation and factory-calibrated CGMs maintained strong accuracy throughout, with median absolute relative differences around 8%, whereas the simplified adhesive-based sensor displayed notably higher variability, exceeding 13% overall. Statistical analyses confirmed significant accuracy differences between the simplified adhesive-based sensors and the other two devices.

These findings highlight that the advanced and factory-calibrated CGMs perform reliably even under the physiological stress of exercise, while simplified adhesive-based sensor may require additional blood glucose checks. Such insights support personalized device selection for active individuals with type 1 diabetes.