The effect of exercise on diabetic control and hemoglobin A1 (HbA1) in children

14 children with juvenile diabetes mellitus (mean age 11 years, mean diabetes duration 5 years) were enrolled in a one-hour twice weekly supervised exercise program for 5 months. A group of 8 diabetic children of same age and diabetic duration served as control group. Maximum oxygen uptake was within normal range for all children. With this exercise program the maximum oxygen uptake of the training group did not change significantly compared with the control group. The physicians rating of degree of the metabolic control based on blood-glucose measurements and urinary glucose excretion did not change in any of the groups. The insulin dosage per kilo body weight remained unchanged in both groups. In the training group the HbA1 values decreased during the exercise period from 15.1 +/- 2.2 (mean HbA1 % +/- 1 S.D.) to 13.8 +/- 1.9 (2p less than 0.001). In the control group the HbA1 values did not change significantly (13.4 +/- 1.9 to 12.9 +/- 1.6; 2p = 0.20). In a co-study the effect of freezing and storage of hemolysates, resulting in increased levels of HbA1, was demonstrated.