Dogs sniff out low blood sugar in diabetes patients

Dogs can act as an effective early-warning system for diabetes patients, scientists have claimed.

Researchers from the University of Bristol found dogs trained to respond to their owners’ hypoglycaemia could alert them to impending lower blood sugars. It was the first academic study to assess whether trained dogs could be reliably used to provide an early-warning system to monitor glycaemia control.

Glycaemia alert dogs were found to accurately and consistently detect the signs of low or high blood sugar in their owners.

The animals alerted their owners when their levels were outside their target range — reducing unconscious episodes, paramedic call outs, and improving independence.

Dr Nicola Rooney from the university’s School of Veterinary Sciences is lead author of the paper — published in PLOS ONE.

“Despite considerable resources having been invested in developing electronic systems to facilitate tightened glycaemic control, current equipment has numerous limitations,” she said.

“These findings are important as they show the value of trained dogs and demonstrate that glycaemia alert dogs placed with clients living with diabetes, afford significant improvements to owner well-being including increased glycaemic control, client independence and quality-of-life and potentially could reduce the costs of long-term health care.”

The researchers collected data from the owners of 17 specially trained dogs. They also studied whether the owners experienced tightened glycaemic control and wider psychological benefits from having the dogs. All 17 patients reported positive effects including reduced paramedic call outs, decreased unconscious episodes, and improved independence.

Owner-recorded data showed the dogs alerted their owners with “significant though variable” accuracy at times of high and low blood sugar.