Association between Physical Activity and Sport Participation on Hemoglobin A1c Among Children and Adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes

Kristi M King,Kimberly R Hartson,Lindsay J Della,Jason R Jaggers,Sara Watson,Kupper A Wintergerst,Amy E Kozerski,Timothy Mckay

doi:10.3390/ijerph18147490

Abstract

Purpose: To determine associations between physical activity (PA) and sport participation on HbA1c levels in children with type 1 diabetes (T1D). Method: Pediatric patients with T1D were invited to complete a PA and sport participation survey. Data were linked to their medical records for demographic characteristics, diabetes treatment and monitoring plans, and HbA1c levels. Results: Participants consisted of 71 females and 81 males, were 13 ± 3 years old with an average HbA1c level of 8.75 ± 1.81. Children accumulating 60 min of activity 3 days or more a week had significantly lower HbA1c compared to those who accumulated less than 3 days (p < 0.01) of 60 min of activity. However, there was no significant difference in HbA1c values based on sport participation groups. A multiple linear regression model indicated that PA, race, age, duration of diagnosis, and CGM use all significantly predicted HbA1c (p < 0.05). Conclusion: This study demonstrated the significant relationship between daily PA and HbA1c. Those in this sample presented with lower HbA1c values even if accumulating less than the recommended number of days of activity. Further, it was shown that sport participation alone may not be adequate enough to impact HbA1c in a similar manner.

Highlights

IntroductionDue to the inability of the body’s natural response to control glucose fluctuations, care must be taken to prevent incidents of low blood glucose levels (hypoglycemia) or high blood glucose levels (hyperglycemia) during and after physical activity [1,2,3,4,5,6]
Children with type 1 diabetes (T1D) should engage in a minimum of 60 min of moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity (PA) per day, the same as children without T1D.due to the inability of the body’s natural response to control glucose fluctuations, care must be taken to prevent incidents of low blood glucose levels or high blood glucose levels during and after physical activity [1,2,3,4,5,6]
The findings from this study suggest that daily PA had more of an impact on reducing hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels for children with T1D than sport participation alone

Summary

Introduction

Due to the inability of the body’s natural response to control glucose fluctuations, care must be taken to prevent incidents of low blood glucose levels (hypoglycemia) or high blood glucose levels (hyperglycemia) during and after physical activity [1,2,3,4,5,6]. Children with T1D can still maintain a healthy and physically active lifestyle through recreational and general play as well as by participating in sports and organized activities as long as necessary safety precautions are taken. Scientific guidance exists regarding glucose targets for safe and effective participation in PA as well as nutritional and insulin dose adjustments to protect against PA-related glucose excursions [7,8,9].

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