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Jun 11, 2024 · Learn about blood sugar levels, how they are tested and why they matter for your health. Find out the normal ranges for children, adults and seniors, and the signs of unbalanced blood sugar.
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- Overview
- Blood sugars by age
- Why blood sugars matter in diabetes?
- Takeaway
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Age is just one factor that can impact glucose levels. Young children, teens, adults, and senior citizens may have different blood sugar goals. This chart details the clinical guidelines for various age groups.
Keeping track of your blood sugar is a key part of diabetes management.
Diabetes is different for everyone, meaning goals may vary for each person. Those goals will depend on many factors, including age. There’s no textbook definition for what your blood sugars should be based on how old you are, but clinical guidelines do offer some detail on starting points to consider when deciding on your personalized management plan with your diabetes care team.
We have a chart below offering that glucose level guidance based on age, to use as a starting point in deciding with your healthcare professionals what might be best for you.
Many health authorities — including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO) — explain glucose levels and what people with diabetes should work toward achieving, at a high level.
The 2023 standards of care from the American Diabetes Association (ADA) are also a guiding document for people with diabetes, as many professionals in the diabetes field follow this set of guidelines when working with their patients.
However, a specific glucose value or range isn’t always possible even from the ADA, as the diabetes organization and many others often rely on the 3-month average test known as the hemoglobin A1C. Established in the early 1990s, the A1C remains the gold standard of diabetes management; even though the ADA and many diabetes experts note it has limitations, such as not properly accounting for blood sugar variability.
Still, the ADA states in its guidelines that various age groups should generally work toward a specific A1C, though that too may depend on your own individual circumstances and can depend on what you and your diabetes care team feels is best for you.
The ADA uses an “A1C to glucose converter” known as estimated average glucose (eAG), to help guide people with diabetes and their clinicians in deciding what might be best for glycemic targets.
This chart details goals for specific groups of people with diabetes, based on age.
In type 1 diabetes (T1D), a person’s pancreas does not produce the insulin they need. In type 2 diabetes (T2D), the body may not make or correctly use insulin anymore.
For either T1D or T2D, ensuring glucose levels stay as level as possible within the target range is the goal. Glucose level targets may vary for everyone based on their unique needs. And those targets may change, even by those creating the diabetes guidelines.
For example, the American Diabetes Association changed its glucose level guidance in 2015 to reflect a change in thinking about overtreating and hypoglycemia concerns.
A 2014 study determined that adults, children, and those who are older might be more prone to overtreating — especially if they use varying doses of insulin or glucose-lowering medications — and that they should consider their lowest glucose threshold to be higher. That prompted the ADA to revise its low threshold to 80 mg/dL.
Some of the other factors that help determine your target goals may include:
•type of diabetes
Maintaining blood sugars (glucose levels) in your target range is a key part of diabetes management. Age is just one of many factors that might impact your individual goals. Those targets may be higher overnight when you’re asleep, they may be higher if you’re prone to low blood sugar events, or they may be higher if you’re less likely to be able to safely treat those reactions.
It’s important to work with your healthcare team on your individual diabetes management plan and what target goals might be best for you, no matter your age.
Learn how age affects blood sugar goals for people with diabetes, according to clinical guidelines from the ADA and other sources. See a chart with glucose level ranges for different age groups before and after meals.
Feb 24, 2023 · Learn the recommended blood sugar ranges for adults, children, pregnant people, and people without diabetes. Find out how to monitor, lower, or raise your blood sugar levels and what A1C means.
Nov 30, 2023 · Learn about the ideal blood sugar levels for people with and without diabetes, and how to monitor and adjust them. Find out the risks of high or low blood sugar, and how to cope with them.
- Jennifer Huizen
Oct 5, 2023 · Learn what normal blood sugar levels are and how to test them. Find out how diabetes and prediabetes affect blood sugar and how to treat them.
Sep 15, 2022 · Learn what normal blood sugar levels are for people with and without diabetes, and how to achieve them. See a chart of target glucose goals for different groups and situations, and tips on language and diabetes management.
Jun 30, 2023 · Blood sugar levels depend on your age, if you have diabetes, and how long it's been since you've eaten. Use our blood sugar charts to find out if you're within normal range.
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