Comparison of physical condition in adolescents with type 1 diabetes and general population in Chile

José Alarcón; Ethel Codner; Franco Giraudo

Background: Physical condition is related with degree of physical activity performed. Daily physical activity is part of non-pharmacological treatment for adolescents with type 1 diabetes (T1D) due its effects in glycaemia stability and reducing cardiovascular risk. However, several studies have observed poor physical condition in adolescent with chronic diseases.

Objective: To evaluate physical condition in adolescents with T1D, comparing with the general Chilean population.

Methods: 31 women and 28 men (12.8 ± 0.8 years) with T1D attending eighth grade school were recruited on 2019 during a free diabetes summer camp and invited to complete the Chilean national evaluation test (SIMCE) for physical condition. Data were compared with the national results for eighth grade schoolchildren measured in 2018 across the country (1,551 women and 1,871 men without diabetes, 13.6 ± 0.5 years). Evaluation considered: anthropometry (BMI), muscle performance test (short abdominals, long jump, elbow flexion-extension), flexibility (adapted Wells‒Dillon trunk flexion test), and cardiorespiratory endurance (Navette test). HbA1c was determined the month prior the camp and associated with cardiorespiratory endurance trough linear correlation.

Results: BMI was comparable between adolescents with T1D and general population (21.73 kg/m² and 22.15 kg/m², respectively; P=0.36). In T1D group, HbA1c was 8.13±1.5% and only 24% of the adolescents had an HbA1c <7%.

Table 1. Physical tests results in adolescents with and without T1D. Data are presented as mean (SD).
		T1D	Control	p
Muscle performance test	Short abdominals, n	37.8 (11.6)	23.2 (3.7)	<0.001
	Long jump, cm	145.2 (26)	139.2 (28.8)	0.11
	Elbow flexion-extension, n	12.4 (6.4)	11.4 (6)	0.22
Flexibility	Flexibility, cm	24.4 (9.3)	32.5 (13.6)	<0.001
Cardiorespiratory endurance	Navette, palets	3.8 (2.2)	4.9 (2.2)	<0.001

In T1D group, 10% of the participants achieved acceptable/outstanding values in muscle performance and elasticity tests. 26.2% achieved acceptable/outstanding level in cardiorespiratory resistance. No correlation was observed between Navette test (cardiorespiratory endurance) and HbA1c (Pearson coefficient -0.044).

Conclusion: Our data suggest that Chilean adolescents with T1D and glycemic management out of range, have lower cardiorespiratory endurance and flexibility than the general Chilean population. This is an important and objective marker to reinforce physical activity as part of the treatment in patients with increased cardiovascular risk. More data is needed to evaluate the repercussion on metabolic management (CONICYT Grant 21160500)

IMPE Abstracts

EP18