Bedtime snacks tied to moderate increase in fasting blood sugar in gestational diabetes: Study

Australia: A recent study in the journal Diabetic Medicine has found that taking a bedtime snack slightly increases fasting blood sugar levels in women with diet-controlled gestational diabetes versus taking no bedtime snack. 

In the study, Dorothy F. Graham, University of Western Australia, Nedlands, Western Australia, Australia, and colleagues set out to determine the effect of different bedtime snacks (higher carbohydrate versus lower carbohydrate versus no snack) on the first morning fasting blood glucose levels (BGLs) in women with diet-controlled gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and borderline fasting glucose levels.

For achieving their objective, the researchers designed a prospective randomized crossover trial that enrolled women with diet-controlled GDM between 24 and 34 weeks gestation who had two or more first-morning fasting BGLs between 4.7 and 5.4 mmol/L in the week prior to recruitment. They were randomly allocated to receive 6 different orders of 5 days each of a standardized higher carbohydrate bedtime snack, a lower carbohydrate bedtime snack, and no bedtime snack. The primary outcome was fasting capillary BGL as measured with a home glucometer, and the secondary outcome was a requirement for insulin as assessed by a physician.

A total of 68 women with GDM were enrolled and completed the study at a median gestation of 30.8 weeks. 

Based on the study, the researchers found that compared with no bedtime snack, the higher carbohydrate snack (4.96 vs 4.87 mmol/L, mean difference: 0.09 mmol/L) and the lower carbohydrate snack (5.01 vs 4.87 mmol/L, mean difference: 0.14 mmol/L) were both associated with a slightly higher fasting BGL the following morning. 

The researchers concluded that "taking a bedtime snack was associated with slightly higher fasting BGLs in women with diet-controlled GDM compared with no bedtime snack."

Reference:

The study titled, "The effect of bedtime snacks on fasting blood glucose levels in gestational diabetes mellitus," is published in the journal Diabetic Medicine. 

DOI: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/dme.14718