October 5, 2019 : Issue #1010

TOP STORIES — Diabetes News and Research

What Causes Blood Glucose to Go Down or Up During Exercise

by Sheri R. Colberg, PhD, FACSM

Metformin and Varicose Vein Risk

Clinical Inertia is Doubled in Patients of Asian Ethnicity with Type 2 Diabetes 

Today we have a group of 50 cyclists from our bike club in St. Petersburg, here in Mt. Dora, Florida for 4 days of riding. On Friday we had about 20 in our group and finished up 65 miles in 3 1/2 hours. The ride involved a lot of climbing and there were a couple of hills that pushed us to the limit. We had 2 Type 2 riders and one Type 1 rider with us, and it was interesting to see the differences in their glucose levels as the ride progressed. At various times during the ride each of them were high, and one time we had to stop for someone who had dropped to 56mg/dl so that they could get their levels back up.

Every one of them expressed frustration about the unpredictable problems they have while riding and why no two days are ever the same. This week our exercise guru, Dr. Sheri Colberg, joins us to explain what could be the cause of this fluctuation, and how these riders might be able to gain better control.

*****************************

We can make a difference!

*****************************

Dave Joffe

Editor-in-chief

By Sheri Colberg, PhD

For all the time that I spend praising the “miracle” of being physically active to help better manage diabetes and health, there are times when exercising does lead to better managed blood glucose and times when it does not. It is not always possible to predict the glycemic outcomes in all cases either, although individual patterns and responses can be determined over time. It is helpful to know the main factors that are predictive of outcomes.

First study to examine whether the diabetes drug may have anti-inflammatory properties that affect varicose vein risk.

Study finds U.S. patients of Asian ancestry are experiencing delays in treatment augmentation when they haven’t met the recommended hemoglobin A1c goals. 

Consumption of soft drinks, whether they’re sweetened with sugar or artificial sweeteners, may raise the risk of premature death, new research suggests. The study examined the association between total, sugar-sweetened, and artificially sweetened soft drink consumption and subsequent total and cause-specific mortality. The results for sugar-sweetened soft drinks provide further support to limit consumption and to replace them with other healthier beverages, preferably water. The new findings don’t mean that soft drinks cause early death, because “in these types of studies (observational epidemiology) there are other factors which may be behind the association. High soft drink consumption may be a marker of an overall unhealthy diet,” the researchers stated. The study assessed diet at the start, including soft drink consumption. Participants also filled out lifestyle questionnaires that asked about factors such as educational level, smoking habits, alcohol intake, and physical activity.  In total, 521 330 individuals were enrolled. Of this total, 451 743 (86.7%) were included in the study, with a mean (SD) age of 50.8 (9.8) years and with 321 081 women (71.1%). After excluding participants who already had conditions such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes at the study’s start as well as those without data on soft drink consumption, the researchers were left with 451,743 participants, who stayed in the study for an average of 16.4 years. The average age at the start was about 51 years. During the study, 41,693 participants died.  When the researchers analyzed their data, accounting for factors that could increase the risk of death, such as body mass index and smoking, they found that participants who consumed two or more glasses of sugar-sweetened soft drinks per day were 8% more likely to die early compared to those who drank less than a glass a month, and those who consumed two or more glasses of artificially sweetened soft drinks a day were 26% more likely to die prematurely compared to those who drank less than a glass per month.

September 3 in JAMA Internal Medicine

Diabetes in Control gratefully acknowledges the assistance of the following pharmacy doctoral candidates in the preparation of this week’s newsletters:

Keri Hames, PharmD Candidate, Florida A&M University, College of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences

Nour Salhab, Pharm.D. Candidate, USF College of Pharmacy

Amber Satz, PharmD Candidate, LECOM School of Pharmacy

Your Friends in Diabetes Care
Steve and Dave
Diabetes In Control
810 Bear Tavern Road Suite 102
Ewing, NJ, 08628
USA
www.diabetesincontrol.com

About LaterPay: You will notice that some of our articles are now marked with a small credit card icon. This means you will be asked to pay a small fee to access the full article text (the cost is $0.39 per article, and you will be charged only after you have reached $5.00 in article views). The costs of producing a newsletter like Diabetes in Control have been increasing, which is why we are asking our readers to help support our ability to continue to bring you quality information about diabetes through charging a minimal price to read certain articles. Thank you for helping to support Diabetes in Control.