Nutrition and Glycemic Control in Children and Adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus Attending Diabetes Camps.
Kleoniki I Athanasiadou, Maria Papagianni, Theodora Psaltopoulou, Stavroula A Paschou
Author Information
Kleoniki I Athanasiadou: Endocrine Unit and Diabetes Centre, Department of Clinical Therapeutics, Alexandra Hospital, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 115 28 Athens, Greece. ORCID
Maria Papagianni: Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, School of Physical Education, Sport Science and Dietetics, University of Thessaly, 421 32 Trikala, Greece. ORCID
Theodora Psaltopoulou: Endocrine Unit and Diabetes Centre, Department of Clinical Therapeutics, Alexandra Hospital, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 115 28 Athens, Greece.
Stavroula A Paschou: Endocrine Unit and Diabetes Centre, Department of Clinical Therapeutics, Alexandra Hospital, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 115 28 Athens, Greece. ORCID
Diabetes camps for children and adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes mellitus (T1DM) offer the opportunity to have a camping experience in a safe and supportive environment where they can receive diabetes skills education, such as glucose self-monitoring, insulin injections, management of hypoglycemia/hyperglycemia, and nutritional recommendations, including meal planning and carbohydrate counting. The ultimate goal of diabetes camps is to educate children to manage their condition independently, without parental involvement. Additionally, attending a diabetes camp is an excellent opportunity to meet peers and share their experiences and concerns about their condition, enhancing their confidence and reducing diabetes-related emotional distress. The aim of this review was to assess whether the nutritional planning and education offered at diabetes camps has a favorable effect on the glycemic control of attending children and adolescents. A literature search in PubMed and Scopus databases was performed. Eligible for inclusion were studies evaluating the effect of nutritional education offered in diabetes camps on glycemic control of children and adolescents with T1DM. The majority of identified eligible studies supported the beneficial impact of the nutritional education offered in diabetes camps on glycemic control during and after the camp sessions. The favorable effect, though, seemed to be temporarily sustained (<6 months). Continuous nutritional education is required to prolong the duration of these beneficial outcomes. Further interventional studies are required to evaluate the direct effect of nutritional education provided at diabetes camps on glycemic control of children and adolescents with T1DM and the actual duration of favorable outcomes.
