Millimoles per liter or milligrams per deciliter?
You have to inject insulin every day based on your blood glucose level. It is therefore essential to know what the displayed value means.
There are two different ways of measuring blood glucose levels: It can either be in terms of a molar concentration, measured in mmol/L or a mass concentration, measured in mg/dL. Most blood glucose meters are prefixed to measure in one or the other. This avoids accidental switching – which could be fatal.
However, you still have to be aware of the different measurement units: If information are listed in the units your meter does not support, you need to convert the values.
Blood glucose conversion tables
mg/dL in mmol/L, conversion factor: 1 mg/dL = 0.0555 mmol/L
| mg/dL | 10 | 15 | 20 | 25 | 30 | 35 | 40 | 45 | 50 | 55 | 60 | 65 | 70 | 75 | 80 | 85 | 90 |
| mmol/L | 0.6 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 1.7 | 1.9 | 2.2 | 2.5 | 2.8 | 3.1 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 3.9 | 4.2 | 4.4 | 4.7 | 5.0 |
| mg/dl | 95 | 100 | 110 | 120 | 130 | 140 | 150 | 160 | 170 | 180 | 190 | 200 | 210 | 220 | 230 | 240 | 250 |
| mmol/L | 5.3 | 5.6 | 6.1 | 6.7 | 7.2 | 7.8 | 8.3 | 8.9 | 9.4 | 10.0 | 10.5 | 11.1 | 11.7 | 12.2 | 12.8 | 13.3 | 13.9 |
| mg/dL | 260 | 270 | 280 | 290 | 300 | 325 | 350 | 375 | 400 | 425 | 450 | 475 | 500 | 525 | 550 | 575 | 600 |
| mmol/L | 14.4 | 15.0 | 15.5 | 16.1 | 16.7 | 18.0 | 19.4 | 20.8 | 22.2 | 23.6 | 25.0 | 26.4 | 27.8 | 29.1 | 30.5 | 31.9 | 33.3 |
mmol/L in mg/dL, conversion factor: 1 mmol/L = 18,018 mg/dL
| mmol/L | 0.6 | 0.8 | 1 | 1.2 | 1.4 | 1.6 | 1.8 | 2 | 2.2 | 2.4 | 2.6 | 2.8 | 3 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 4 | 4.5 |
| mg/dL | 11 | 14 | 18 | 22 | 25 | 29 | 32 | 36 | 40 | 43 | 47 | 50 | 54 | 59 | 65 | 72 | 81 |
| mmol/L | 5 | 5.5 | 6 | 6.5 | 7 | 7.5 | 8 | 8.5 | 9 | 9.5 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
| mg/dL | 90 | 99 | 108 | 117 | 126 | 135 | 144 | 153 | 162 | 171 | 180 | 198 | 216 | 234 | 252 | 270 | 288 |
| mmol/L | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 |
| mg/dL | 306 | 324 | 342 | 360 | 378 | 396 | 414 | 432 | 450 | 468 | 486 | 505 | 523 | 541 | 559 | 577 | 595 |