Longitudinal association between eating frequency and hemoglobin A1c and serum lipids in diabetes in the SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth study

BACKGROUND

Few studies have evaluated the prospective association of eating frequency with HbA1c levels and cardiovascular disease risk markers among youth with diabetes.

OBJECTIVE

To examine the 5-year longitudinal association of eating frequency with HbA1c and serum lipid levels among youth with type 1 diabetes (T1D) or type 2 diabetes (T2D).

METHODS

One-thousand and forty-nine youth (≥10-year old) with incident T1D (n = 821) or T2D (n = 228) who participated in the SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth study were included. Eating frequency (≤3, 4-5, or 6-10 times/d) measured at baseline and follow-up visits was related to HbA1c and serum lipid levels measured repeatedly over 5 years.

RESULTS

Increased eating frequency was associated with larger increases in HbA1c among youth T1D. For example, for youth with T1D who ate ≤3 times/d at the outset and ate 6-10 times/d 5 years later, the longitudinal model predicted greater absolute increases in HbA1c (2.77%); whereas for youth with T1D who ate 6-10 times/d at the outset and ate ≤3 times/d 5 years later, the model predicted lesser absolute increases in HbA1c (1.33%). Eating frequency was not associated with changes in serum lipid levels among youth with T1D or T2D.

CONCLUSIONS

Youth with T1D who increased their eating frequency vs those who decreased it had larger increases in HbA1c over 5 years.