Abstract
For a person with type 1 diabetes, participation in exercise may increase the risk of hypoglycaemia. Research has been performed during or immediately after exercise in a laboratory environment, with limited evidence regarding strategies for post-exercise hypoglycaemia prevention.
The aim of this study was to investigate the occurrence of delayed hypoglycaemia after 40 minutes of moderate intensity exercise at 70% VO2 max before the evening meal, in both the real-life and laboratory exercise environments.
Nine individuals (five males, four females) with type 1 diabetes using basal bolus analogue insulin regimens participated. All performed two sessions of 40 minutes of moderate intensity exercise in two environments (laboratory and real-life), while following a self-management algorithm that included a 30% reduction of post-exercise evening meal insulin. Data were collected by continuous glucose monitoring for episodes of interstitial glucose <4.0 mmol/L at two-hourly time-points for 12 hours post-exercise.
Before the evening meal, the mean blood glucose concentrations were: laboratory 8.0 ± 1.9 mmol/L and real-life 9.9 ± 4.1 mmol/L. During 2–6 hours after exercise, episodes of glucose concentrations <4.0 mmol/L were: laboratory n = 5, and real-life n = 2. This compared to 8–12 hours after: laboratory n = 3, and real-life n = 8. Hypoglycaemia unawareness was noted in eight of all 18 post-evening meal episodes of <4.0 mmol/L (laboratory n = 5, real-life n = 3).
Despite post-exercise fast-acting insulin dose reduction of 30%, delayed hypoglycaemia occurred in both environments with an increase during 8–12 hours in the real-life environment. Recommendations from data suggest carbohydrate consumption at bedtime, and evening exercisers to perform blood glucose monitoring 8–12 hours post-exercise. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 99 – 102 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | Practical Diabetes |
Volume | 32 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Apr 2015 |
Keywords
- type 1 diabetes
- exercise
- hypoglycaemia