Endocrine Abstracts

In type 1 diabetes athletes, the proper adjustments of insulin doses and carbs intake are essential in order to avoid a hypoglycemic event that could affect the sport performances.

The aim of the study was to assess the risk of hypoglycemia, the insulin and glycemic variability in 2 different days (with and without physical activity) in a group of nine players with type 1 diabetes, members of the Romania diabetes futsal team (twice European champion).

The evaluation was achieved by means of a self monitoring journal in which the players were asked to note at least 7 glycemic values (at least one during the night, at 0300 h) in 2 different days. The relative risk (RR) and the odds ratio (OR) were used to compare the risk of hypoglycemia between the 2 days and the Pearson coefficient (r) to establish the correlations between the insulin doses and, respectively the average glucose levels.

The average age was 27.77±4.57, with a glycated hemoglobin of 7.6%±0.9% and 11.22±6.38 age of diabetes. There were strong correlations in the total (r=0.858), basal (r=0.784) and prandial (r=0.884) insulin doses between the 2 days. Also, a weak positive correlation (r=0.473) between the average glucose levels in the 2 days was observed. According to OR there is a 4.375 higher risk of developing a hypoglycemic event in the day with physical activity (RR=75%).

Our study confirms that physical activity it is an important risk factor for hypoglycemia in type 1 diabetes athletes. Our study also suggests that individualized strategies (including higher insulin doses reductions and proper carbs intake) are needed to avoid hypoglycemia and increase the athlete’s performances.