Introduction & Objective: For people with Type 1 diabetes, changes in sugar levels in response to exercise can be highly variable. A meta-analysis of recent continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) studies was conducted to identify glucose changes in response to exercise.
Methods: A literature search was conducted on the PubMed database using keywords "CGM," "Type 1 Diabetes," and "Exercise". Forest plots were created using the R language to visualize mean glucose change and its confidence intervals utilizing the random effect model.
Results: The literature search identified 5 CGM studies matching the criteria. Overall, glucose levels did not change significantly in response to exercise although the changes in glucose levels was highly variable. When subdivided based on exercise intensity, moderate intensity exercise demonstrated significant decrease in glucose levels (p<0.001), whereas high intensity exercise tended to demonstrate an increase in glucose levels but the change is not statistically significant.
Conclusion: This meta-analysis of CGM exercise studies in people with Type 1 diabetes demonstrate that the glucose response to exercise is highly variable in part because moderate intensity aerobic exercise lowers glucose levels while high intensity aerobic exercise tends to increase glucose levels.
C. Phan: None. S.J. Fisher: None. X.D. Zhang: None.
the National Institutes of Health (UL1TR001998, 1U01DK135111 and OT2HL161847) and by the DRC at Washington University (P30 DK020579)
