Association of diet and lifestyle with glycated haemoglobin in type 1 diabetes participants in the EURODIAB prospective complications study

Abstract

Background/objectives: Diet and lifestyle advice for type 1 diabetes (T1DM) patients is based on little evidence and putative effects on glycaemic control. Therefore, we investigated the longitudinal relation between dietary and lifestyle variables and HbA1c levels in patients with type 1 diabetes.

Subjects/methods: A 7-year prospective cohort analysis was performed in 1659 T1DM patients (52% males, mean age 32.5 years) participating in the EURODIAB Prospective Complications Study. Baseline dietary intake was assessed by 3- day records and physical activity, smoking status and alcohol intake by questionnaires. HbA1c during follow-up was centrally assessed by immunoassay. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and restricted cubic spline regression analyses were performed to assess dose-response associations between diet and lifestyle variables and HbA1c levels, adjusted for age, sex, lifestyle and body composition measures, baseline HbA1c, medication use and severe hypoglycaemic attacks.

Results: Mean follow-up of our study population was 6.8 (s.d. 0.6) years. Mean HbA1c level was 8.25% (s.d. 1.85) (or 66.6 mmol/mol) at baseline and 8.27% (s.d. 1.44) at follow-up. Physical activity, smoking status and alcohol intake were not associated with HbA1c at follow-up in multivariable ANOVA models. Baseline intake below the median of vegetable protein (<29 g/day) and dietary fibre (<18 g/day) was associated with higher HbA1c levels. Restricted cubic splines showed nonlinear associations with HbA1c levels for vegetable protein (P (nonlinear)=0.008) and total dietary fibre (P (nonlinear)=0.0009).

Conclusions: This study suggests that low intake of vegetable protein and dietary fibre are associated with worse glycaemic control in type 1 diabetes.