Diabetes Treatment Review

Post-exercise hypoglycemia in people with type 1 diabetes

Daniella Otway of the Diabetic Hypoglycemia Editorial Team

Diabetic Hypoglycemia September 2013, Volume 6, Issue 2: page 20-23

Clinical guidelines recommend that people with type 1 diabetes take regular exercise to help with the management of their condition. As exercise is associated with the risk of hypoglycemia, including late-onset hypoglycemia, it is important that people with type 1 diabetes understand how to modify their insulin dose accordingly. Clinical studies show that selecting the optimal insulin dose can be particularly challenging as blood glucose levels and profiles, both during and after exercise, depend on the timing and intensity of the physical activity performed and can differ considerably. While modifying pre- and post-exercise insulin doses appear to lower the risk of hypoglycemia occurring shortly after exercise, this has limited influence on the risk of late-onset hypoglycemia. However, closed-loop insulin infusion systems appear capable of minimizing the risk of nocturnal hypoglycemia events following daytime exercise.

Keywords: exercise, glycemic control, hypoglycemia, insulin, late-onset hypoglycemia, nocturnal hypoglycemia