The effect of snack size carbohydrate quantities on blood glucose
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Busting the myth of an ‘insulin-free’ snack: investigating the effect of snack size carbohydrate quantities on postprandial glycaemic control in children with type 1 diabetes.
IRAS ID
270467
Contact name
Astha Soni
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
N/A, N/A
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 9 months, 4 days
Research summary
Based on mimicking normal physiology, the foundations of type 1 diabetes management are based on the effects of carbohydrate on blood glucose levels. Carbohydrates are the key macronutrient influencing glycaemia due to their direct catabolism into glucose. Children with Type 1 diabetes lack the ability to regulate the body’s blood glucose levels due to an absolute insulin deficiency. They are therefore subject to lifelong treatment with insulin, with the majority of patients using intensive insulin therapy either through multiple daily injections (MDI) or continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII). Insulin is delivered at a basal rate in addition to pre-prandial boluses calculated according to a patient’s insulin: carbohydrate ratio. With the introduction of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM), a new emphasis has been placed on postprandial glycaemic control. There is increasing evidence emerging indicating that postprandial hyperglycaemia has a strong influence on an individual’s HbA1c and thus micro- and macrovascular complications. A wealth of research has been undertaken assessing the relationship between carbohydrates, their postprandial effects and thus optimal insulin dosage. However, there is yet to be any investigation into how small quantities of carbohydrate impact blood glucose levels. Despite this, education programmes promoting carbohydrate counting in the self-management of diabetes advise patients that a snack containing up to 10g of carbohydrate can be eaten without correcting with an insulin bolus. This study will look to either confirm or dispel this assumption in the interest of reducing postprandial hyperglycaemia by recruiting paediatric patients diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes and using CGM to monitor their interstitial glucose levels after 5 snacks with varying carbohydrate quantities.
REC name
East Midlands - Nottingham 1 Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/EM/0322
Date of REC Opinion
16 Oct 2019
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion