Self-management of Type 1 Diabetes During Prolonged Cycling
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A Qualitative Investigation into the Self-management of Type 1 Diabetes During an Ultra Endurance Cycling Event - The UK Coast to Coast in a Day Sportive
IRAS ID
219874
Contact name
Andy King
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Leeds Beckett University
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
version 1; 28th March 2017, consent form version 1; version 1; 28th March 2017, medical history questionnaire version 1; version 1; 28th March 2017, interview theme guide version 1; version 1; 28th March 2017, pre-event questionnaire version 1; version 1; 28th March 2017, Participant information sheet version 1
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 1 months, 13 days
Research summary
People with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) are encouraged to regularly engage in exercise as much as their non-T1D counterparts as part of a healthy lifestyle. Aside from the direct T1D-specific physiological health benefits, exercise provides an opportunity to empower individuals to take on the responsibility of self-managing their condition. However, exercise for this population is not without its difficulties. Defective blood glucose regulation presents a significant challenge in preventing blood glucose levels falling dangerously low (hypoglycaemia; e.g. below 3.5 mmol/l) both during exercise, and for many hours afterwards. Furthermore, this risk is exacerbated when long-duration aerobic exercise is performed (ultra-endurance exercise). Current research advocates adjusting the dose of administered insulin and consuming carbohydrates around exercise in order to combat hypoglycaemia. However, many people with T1D feel largely uninformed about insulin adjustments and carbohydrate feeding around exercise and are fearful of exercise-induced hypoglycaemia, especially during ultra-endurance exercise.
Diabetes education has the power to motivate and empower patients with instruction in self-monitoring techniques, an understanding of the physiological responses to exercise, nutritional requirements, pharmacologic options around exercise and the psychosocial adjustments in response to self-managing T1D around exercise. At present, there is no available information pertaining to the self-management practices, specifically the decision-making processes that people with T1D adopt when participating in ultra-endurance exercise.
Using a questionnaire, live-data capture and interview approach, this research will examine the self-management strategies and decision-making processes adopted by people with T1D participating in ultra-endurance exercise.
The findings of this investigation will benefit the exercising population of people with T1D by the provision of more refined self-management strategies for ultra-endurance exercise.REC name
London - Camden & Kings Cross Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/LO/0906
Date of REC Opinion
26 May 2017
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion