Abstract
Introduction
More than 35 years ago, the term “dawn phenomenon” was introduced to describe the increase of blood glucose level during the period from nocturnal nadir to early morning in patients with type 1 diabetes.1,2 Similar observations were reported in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D), 3 and even in those with prediabetes or normal glucose tolerance. 4 The dawn phenomenon may contribute to postprandial hyperglycemia in the morning,1,5 and its impact on diurnal glycemic control in patients with T2D could be assessed using data collected through ambulatory continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). 6
The pathogenesis of the dawn phenomenon involves nocturnal increases of counter-regulatory hormones, including growth hormone, cortisol, and catecholamines.2,3,7–9 In people with insulin resistance or β-cell dysfunction, the secretion of insulin during the nocturnal period is not enough to suppress hepatic glucose overproduction in response to the increases of counter regulatory hormones. 10 Therefore, the dawn phenomenon is frequently present not only in patients with T2D (~50%), but also in individuals with prediabetes (~30%). 4 Moreover, nocturnal hypoglycemia may also lead to hyperglycemia in the early morning period. 11
Although the dawn phenomenon is frequently present in patients with T2D, 4 there are limited data regarding the effects of oral glucose-lowering drugs on the dawn phenomenon.6,12 To quantify the magnitude of the dawn phenomenon, researchers subtracted nocturnal nadir glucose (between 0:00 and 6:00 a.m.) from prebreakfast glucose using data collected through frequent glucose monitoring or ambulatory CGM.1,4,12,13 As the dawn phenomenon is characterized by glucose excursions, we hypothesized that glucose excursions would be associated with the dawn phenomenon in patients with T2D. In this study, we investigated the association between glucose excursions and the dawn phenomenon, and assessed the effects of oral glucose lowering drugs on the dawn phenomenon in patients with T2D.
Methods
In this study, a
Ambulatory continuous glucose measurements were conducted using a Medtronic MiniMed CGM system (Northridge, CA, USA) before randomization and at the end of the study.14,15 Patients were instructed to calibrate the system using capillary blood glucose testing, and to mark the time when they ate meals. Glucose excursions were measured and expressed as mean amplitude of glycemic excursions (MAGE), as previously reported. 16 Insulin resistance and β-cell function were assessed using the homeostasis model assessment (HOMA-IR and HOMA-β, respectively). 17 HOMA-IR = fasting insulin (μU/l) × fasting glucose (mmol/l)/22.5. HOMA-β = 20 × fasting insulin (μU/l)/[fasting glucose (mmol/l)–3.5].
To determine the magnitude of the dawn phenomenon, a nadir glucose level during the nocturnal period (0:00–6:00 a.m.) was identified using the CGM data. The magnitude of the dawn phenomenon was then calculated as the difference between the nocturnal nadir and prebreakfast glucose level (Figure 1).12,13 To avoid the possible confounding effect of nocturnal hypoglycemia, 11 we did not assess the dawn phenomenon on days with nocturnal hypoglycemia (CGM reading <70 mg/dl during 0:00–6:00 a.m.). The mean value of eligible dawn phenomenon for each patient was used for analyses.

Schematic representation of calculation of the dawn phenomenon (difference between nocturnal nadir and pre-breakfast glucose levels) using data from CGM. (a) Nocturnal nadir. (b) Pre-breakfast. (c) Dawn phenomenon.
Statistical analyses
All statistical analyses were conducted using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (IBM SPSS version 22.0; International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, USA). Categorical and continuous data are expressed as numbers (percentages) and mean ± standard deviation (SD), respectively. To examine the association between MAGE and the dawn phenomenon, a linear regression analysis was used with adjustment for age, sex, duration of diabetes, body mass index, HOMA-β, and HOMA-IR. To determine the statistical differences in variables between baseline and after treatment, a paired Student’s
Results
Table 1 shows the baseline characteristics of the study population. A total of 50 patients with T2D [mean age 53.5 ± 8.2 years, female 52.0%, mean body mass index (BMI) 25.6 ± 3.4 kg/m2] were analyzed. The mean duration of CGM was 3.1 ± 0.6 days. A total of 13 episodes of nocturnal glucose <70 mg/dl with no symptoms were identified (5 at baseline, 8 at the end of study, and 5 were treated with glibenclamide), and dawn phenomenon was not assessed on the day with nocturnal glucose <70 mg/dl. All the patients had uncontrolled glycemia (mean fasting plasma glucose 153.8 ± 40.9 mg/dl, mean HbA1c 8.4 ± 1.2%) on metformin monotherapy. Data from CGM also revealed poor glycemic control (mean glucose 174.3 ± 43.8 mg/dl, percentage of time in glucose range 70–180 mg/dl 61.5 ± 28.2 %), significant glucose excursions (MAGE 105.3 ± 39.3 mg/dl), and the dawn phenomenon (35.9 ± 17.9 mg/dl) in the study population.
Baseline characteristics of the study participants. Data are presented as mean ± SD or numbers (percentages).
BMI, body mass index; HbA1c, glycosylated hemoglobin; HOMA, homeostasis model assessment; IR, insulin resistance; SD, standard deviation.
Figure 2 displays the association between glucose excursions and the dawn phenomenon. We observed a significant association between MAGE and the dawn phenomenon (

The association of MAGE with the dawn phenomenon in the study population.
Linear regression analysis with the dawn phenomenon as the dependent variable.
Unadjusted.
Adjusted for age and sex.
Adjusted for variables in model 2 plus body mass index and duration of diabetes.
Adjusted for variables in model 3 plus HOMA-β.
Adjusted for variables in model 3 plus HOMA-IR.
HOMA, homeostasis model assessment; IR, insulin resistance; MAGE, mean amplitude of glycemic excursions.
Table 3 shows the treatment effects on glycemic parameters by treatment allocation. Both fasting plasma glucose and HbA1c significantly improved after randomization to acarbose (
Treatment effects on glycemic parameters by treatment allocation. Data are presented as mean ± SD.
CGM, continuous glucose monitoring; HbA1c, glycosylated hemoglobin; MAGE, mean amplitude of glycemic excursions; SD, standard deviation.

Mean 24-h glucose profiles before (dashed line) and after (solid line) treatment with acarbose (upper panel) and glibenclamide (lower panel). The error bar denotes 1 SD.
Discussion
Using CGM data, we demonstrated that glucose excursions were associated independently with the dawn phenomenon in patients with poorly controlled T2D on metformin monotherapy (Figure 2 and Table 2). Moreover, the dawn phenomenon decreased significantly in patients randomized to receive acarbose, but not in those randomized to receive glibenclamide (Table 3). The dawn phenomenon is an important part of diurnal glycemic control in patients with T2D.4,6,10 The significant association between glycemic excursions and the dawn phenomenon, and the treatment effects of oral glucose-lowering drugs on the dawn phenomenon in this study are clinically relevant.
It is reasonable to suppose that glucose excursions would be associated significantly with the dawn phenomenon. The definition of the dawn phenomenon and the method we used to define the dawn phenomenon (the difference between the nocturnal glucose nadir and prebreak-fast glucose level) are both involve glucose excursions.1,4,12,13 Our finding was in line with the results recently reported by Li
Our observation that treatment with sulfonylurea had no effect on the dawn phenomenon (Table 3) is interesting. The dawn phenomenon has been attributed to inadequate insulin action (due to insulin resistance and/or impaired β-cell function) in response to a nocturnal surge of counter-regulatory hormones (growth hormone, cortisol, and catecholamines) in patients with abnormal glucose regulation.1–3,7–10,19–21 As a result, provision of basal insulin has been considered as an optimal treatment to dampen the dawn phenomenon.5,10,22–24 Nevertheless, a stable and peakless insulin action profile is required.10,25 Insulin secretion after treatment with a sulfonylurea 26 is not as stable as treatment with basal insulin. Both nocturnal nadir and prebreakfast glucose levels significantly decreased after treatment with glibenclamide (Table 3). However, there was no significant change in the magnitude of the dawn phenomenon. Taken together, our results suggest that treatment with sulfonylurea has no effect on the dawn phenomenon, while treatment with acarbose significantly improved glucose excursions and the dawn phenomenon in T2D patients with poor glycemic control on metformin monotherapy.
There were several limitations to this study. First, this was a
Conclusion
In summary, we demonstrated that glucose excursions were independently associated with the dawn phenomenon in patients with T2D on metformin monotherapy. Both glucose excursions and the dawn phenomenon improved after treatment with acarbose, but not after treatment with glibenclamide.
