ESPE Abstracts

Aim: Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (T1DM) is a chronic disease and requires lifelong care and management. Carbohydrate (CHO) counting is one of the meal planning methods that can be preferred in the treatment of diabetes. We aimed to investigate the effect of carbohydrate counting on the nutritional habits and metabolic control of adolescents with Type 1 DM.

Subjects and Method: Patients with Type 1DM diagnosis who applied to our Pediatric Endocrinology outpatient clinic and wanted to participate in the study voluntarily were included in the study. A questionnaire form (Food Consumption Frequency Form) aimed at evaluating the nutritional habits of the patients was administered through face-to-face interviews. HbA1c level was used to evaluate metabolic control.

Results: Fifty (58% female) adolescents diagnosed with T1DM with a mean age of 13.3 ± 2.6 years (10-19) were included in the study. 54% (n = 27) of the cases had received CHO count training, while 42% (n = 21) were performing CHO count. The average age of the patients who performed the CHO count was 13.1 ± 2.3 years (10-19), 66.7% (n = 14) of them were female. The average age of the group that did not perform the CHO count was 13.5 ± 2.7 years (10-19), and 51.7% (n = 15) were female. The mean duration of diabetes was 5.2 ± 3.5 (1-12) years in the group using the CHO count, and 4.9 ± 3.0 (1-12) years in the group that did not, and did not differ between the groups (p = 0.16). While there was no difference between the number of daily snacks and snacks and the amount of CHO consumed in the main meal between the group that used the CHO count and the group that did not use the CHO count, it was found that the group that used the CHO count consumed more CHO in snacks (respectively p = 0.40, p = 0.37, p = 0.50, p = 0.04). The mean HbA1c level was 8.4 ± 1.8% (6.1-13.7) in the group that used the CHO count, and 8.4 ± 1.7% (6.4-14.1) in the group that did not, and it was not different between the groups. (p = 0.95)

Conclusıons: We found that CHO count causes an increase in the amount of CHO consumed especially in snacks in adolescents with T1DM, but does not have a significant effect on nutritional habits and metabolic control.