Does sucrose affect the glucose variability in patients with type 1 diabetes? a pilot crossover clinical study.

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the effects of a sucrose-free diet with a sucrose-added diet on glucose variability in patients with type 1 diabetes.

Methods: This was a two-way crossover design study in which patients with type 1 diabetes were monitored by blinded continuous glucose monitoring and were selected to receive a sucrose-free diet (<30 g/d), followed by a sucrose-added diet (>80 g/d) for 2 d each. Intra-day glucose variability was assessed by the mean amplitude of glycemic excursions (MAGE), the M-value, J-index, glycemic risk assessment in diabetes equation (GRADE), and continuous overlapping net glycemic action (CONGA). Between-day variability was determined by mean of daily difference (MODD). Statistical analyses were performed with a significance level of 5%.

Results: Ten patients with type 1 diabetes were evaluated. The participants were a mean of 26.1 ± 7.1 y of age. The mean duration of disease was 16.5 ± 10.5 y, and patients' mean glycated hemoglobin was 7.4% ± 0.8%. The intra- and inter-day glucose variability indexes did not differ between the diet periods (MAGE: 10.2 ± 5.1 and 10.4 ± 6.8mmol/L, P = 0.98; M-value: 12.9 ± 2 and 15.6 ± 1.3mmol/L, P = 0.29; J-index: 50.9 ± 4.4 and 57.7 ± 3.3mmol/L, P = 0.41; GRADE: 7.2 ± 1 and 4.7 ± 5.3mmol/L, P = 0.07; and MODD: 3.9 ± 1 and 4.3 ± 1.5mmol/L, P = 0.28; for the sucrose-free and sucrose-added diets, respectively). CONGA were similar for both diet periods (P > 0.05).

Conclusions: The use of a moderate amount of sucrose, as part of a balanced diet, did not affect the glucose variability or insulin requirements in patients with type 1 diabetes.