Racial-Ethnic Inequity in Young Adults With Type 1 Diabetes.

CONTEXT: Minority young adults (YA) currently represent the largest growing population with type 1 diabetes (T1D) and experience very poor outcomes. Modifiable drivers of disparities need to be identified, but are not well-studied. OBJECTIVE: To describe racial-ethnic disparities among YA with T1D and identify drivers of glycemic disparity other than socioeconomic status (SES). DESIGN: Cross-sectional multicenter collection of patient and chart-reported variables, including SES, social determinants of health, and diabetes-specific factors, with comparison between non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black, and Hispanic YA and multilevel modeling to identify variables that account for glycemic disparity apart from SES. SETTING: Six diabetes centers across the United States. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 300 YA with T1D (18-28 years: 33% non-Hispanic White, 32% non-Hispanic Black, and 34% Hispanic). MAIN OUTCOME: Racial-ethnic disparity in HbA1c levels. RESULTS: Non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic YA had lower SES, higher HbA1c levels, and much lower diabetes technology use than non-Hispanic White YA (P < 0.001). Non-Hispanic Black YA differed from Hispanic, reporting higher diabetes distress and lower self-management (P < 0.001). After accounting for SES, differences in HbA1c levels disappeared between non-Hispanic White and Hispanic YA, whereas they remained for non-Hispanic Black YA (+ 2.26% [24 mmol/mol], P < 0.001). Diabetes technology use, diabetes distress, and disease self-management accounted for a significant portion of the remaining non-Hispanic Black-White glycemic disparity. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated large racial-ethnic inequity in YA with T1D, especially among non-Hispanic Black participants. Our findings reveal key opportunities for clinicians to potentially mitigate glycemic disparity in minority YA by promoting diabetes technology use, connecting with social programs, and tailoring support for disease self-management and diabetes distress to account for social contextual factors.

Mini-Dose Glucagon as a Novel Approach to Prevent Exercise-Induced Hypoglycemia in Type 1 Diabetes.

OBJECTIVE: Patients with type 1 diabetes who do aerobic exercise often experience a drop in blood glucose concentration that can result in hypoglycemia. Current approaches to prevent exercise-induced hypoglycemia include reduction in insulin dose or ingestion of carbohydrates, but these strategies may still result in hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia. We sought to determine whether mini-dose glucagon (MDG) given subcutaneously before exercise could prevent subsequent glucose lowering and to compare the glycemic response to current approaches for mitigating exercise-associated hypoglycemia. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: We conducted a four-session, randomized crossover trial involving 15 adults with type 1 diabetes treated with continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion who exercised fasting in the morning at ∼55% VO2max for 45 min under conditions of no intervention (control), 50% basal insulin reduction, 40-g oral glucose tablets, or 150-µg subcutaneous glucagon (MDG). RESULTS: During exercise and early recovery from exercise, plasma glucose increased slightly with MDG compared with a decrease with control and insulin reduction and a greater increase with glucose tablets (P < 0.001). Insulin levels were not different among sessions, whereas glucagon increased with MDG administration (P < 0.001). Hypoglycemia (plasma glucose <70 mg/dL) was experienced by six subjects during control, five subjects during insulin reduction, and none with glucose tablets or MDG; five subjects experienced hyperglycemia (plasma glucose ≥250 mg/dL) with glucose tablets and one with MDG. CONCLUSIONS: MDG may be more effective than insulin reduction for preventing exercise-induced hypoglycemia and may result in less postintervention hyperglycemia than ingestion of carbohydrate.

Efficacy and Safety of Mini-Dose Glucagon for Treatment of Nonsevere Hypoglycemia in Adults With Type 1 Diabetes.

Context: Standard treatment of hypoglycemia is oral carbohydrate, but it often results in hyperglycemia and entails extra caloric intake. Objective: To evaluate low-dose glucagon to treat mild hypoglycemia in ambulatory adults with type 1 diabetes (T1D). Design: Randomized crossover trial (two 3-week periods). Setting: Five U.S. diabetes clinics. Patients: Twenty adults with T1D using an insulin pump and continuous glucose monitor (CGM) and experiencing frequent mild hypoglycemia. Intervention: Nonaqueous mini-dose glucagon (MDG) (150 µg) to treat nonsevere hypoglycemia. Main Outcome Measures: Successful treatment was defined as blood glucose (BG) ≥50 mg/dL 15 minutes and ≥70 mg/dL 30 minutes after intervention, on the study meter. Two authors, blinded to treatment arm, independently judged each event as a clinical success or failure. Results: Sixteen participants (mean age 39 years, 75% female, mean diabetes duration 23 years, mean hemoglobin A1c 7.2%) had 118 analyzable events with initial BG of 50 to 69 mg/dL. Successful treatment criteria were met for 58 (94%) of 62 events during the MDG period and 53 (95%) of 56 events during the glucose tablets (TABS) period (adjusted P = 0.99). Clinical assessments of success for these events were 97% and 96%, respectively. CGM-measured time in range did not differ between treatment groups during the 2 hours after events, but TABS resulted in higher maximum glucose (116 vs 102 mg/dL; P = 0.01) over the first hour. Conclusions: Low-dose glucagon can successfully treat mild hypoglycemia and may be a useful alternative to treatment with oral carbohydrate when trying to avoid unnecessary caloric intake.