Your Screening Schedule
Reviewed by CDE Mehandi Sharma · Updated
Complication screening in monogenic diabetes should follow your gene rather than the word on your file, and this is worth settling explicitly with your doctor.
| Check | How often |
|---|---|
| HbA1c | Every 6 months, or every 3 if treatment is changing |
| Dilated eye examination | At least yearly in progressive subtypes |
| Urine albumin and kidney function | Yearly; more often in HNF1B |
| Foot examination | At each review in progressive subtypes |
| Blood pressure | At every visit |
| Cholesterol and triglycerides | Yearly, or per general guidance |
| Dental check-up | At least yearly |
In progressive subtypes — HNF1A, HNF4A and others with declining beta-cell function — this schedule applies much as it would in ordinary diabetes, because the risks are comparable.
In GCK-MODY, the picture is different. With microvascular complications in 1% and macrovascular in 4%, intensive annual screening for microvascular damage is harder to justify, and your doctor may reasonably recommend a lighter schedule. What still matters is blood pressure, cholesterol and general cardiovascular health.
In HNF1B, kidney monitoring is the priority and is driven by the kidney involvement itself.
Keep your own record of when each was last done. In a rare condition the follow-up is frequently not tracked by anyone else — the same problem prediabetes has.