Researchers are on the hunt for young people with Type 1 Diabetes to participate in a short at-home trial looking at better ways to understand the relationship between carbohydrate amount and the dose of insulin needed to manage blood sugar levels.
Researcher Natalie Cordon said people with diabetes generally worked out how much insulin to give for meals based on how much carbohydrate they planned to eat and their insulin-to-carb ratio.
“This ratio is based on the idea that as the carbs amount increase, so does the insulin dose linearly but studies suggest that the relationship might not be linear and that a different way of calculating the insulin dose might decrease the risk of hypos and improve glucose levels after eating,” Mrs Cordon said.
“We hope this study will help people with diabetes by giving more information on the best way to calculate their insulin doses before eating common high-carbohydrate meals.”
To be eligible for the Linear Carbohydrate Study, participants need to be aged 12 to 30 years, have had Type 1 Diabetes for more than a year and have a good appetite for pancakes! Participants also need to be on a pump or multiple daily injections.
For more information, email Natalie Cordon, natalie.cordon@health.wa.gov.au