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Comparison of Low, Moderate and High Carbohydrate Diet on Insulin Requirements and Metabolic Control in Type 1 Diabetes

DANCE (Diabetes ANd CarbohydratEs). Does the Amount of Dietary Carbohydrates Affect Insulin Requirements and Metabolic Control in Type 1 Diabetes? Comparative Study of Traditional Diabetes, Moderately Low and Strictly Low Carbohydrate Diet

Status
Completed
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT03761186
Acronym
DANCE
Enrollment
103
Registered
2018-12-03
Start date
2018-12-12
Completion date
2024-03-11
Last updated
2026-07-20

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Type1diabetes

Keywords

type 1 diabetes, low carbohydrate diet, randomized trial, adults, insulin, metabolic control

Brief summary

The scientific basis for dietary recommendations in type 1 diabetes is almost lacking, with the current recommendations being based on type 2 diabetes studies. Therefore the overall purpose of this study is to improve the current evidence for dietary recommendations to people with type 1 diabetes. Study aim: To compare how a strictly low carbohydrate diet, a moderately low carbohydrate diet and a traditional diabetes diet (with higher amounts of carbohydrates) affect insulin requirements and metabolic control in individuals with type 1 diabetes. Carbohydrate intake is 50-60% of the total energy intake in the traditional diabetes diet, 30-40% in the moderately low carbohydrate diet and 15-20% in the strictly low carbohydrate diet with a minimum of 50 g carbohydrates/day. A diet with less than 50 g carbohydrates/day is usually called very low carbohydrate diet or ketogenic and will not be tested in this study. Those who wish to participate and meet the inclusion criteria (and none of the exclusion criteria) will be randomized to one of the three diets. The duration of the intervention is 6 months after which the participants will be able to choose their own diet for another 6 months. The main study visits are at baseline (screening and study start), 3, 6, 9, and 12 months. Shorter visits will be at 3 and 6 weeks. The participants will meet with a study nurse, dietitian and doctor. They will attend two carbohydrate counting courses before the start of the intervention in order to be able to match their insulin to the amount carbohydrates they eat. Participants will receive written materials about their diets with menus and recipes for better adherence to the diet. The primary endpoint is the change in insulin requirements within and between groups (for secondary endpoints please see relevant section). For assessing the different endpoints the participants will provide blood, urine and feces samples for lab analyses as well as register their insulin use, blood glucose, diet, physical activity and any blood ketones or hypoglycemia electronically or in written forms. Continuous/flash glucose monitoring (CGM/FGM) will be also used. Dietary assessment and adherence will be based on 3-4 day food diaries before every scheduled study visit.

Interventions

BEHAVIORALtraditional diabetes diet

Diet with carbohydrate content 50-60% of total energy intake

BEHAVIORALmoderately low carbohydrate diet

Diet with carbohydrate content 30-40% of total energy intake

BEHAVIORALstrictly low carbohydrate diet

Diet with carbohydrate content 15-20% of total energy intake

Sponsors

Anneli Björklund
Lead SponsorOTHER
Uppsala University Hospital
CollaboratorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
OTHER
Masking
SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)

Masking description

Nurses that will take lab samples as well as laboratory personal that analyses the samples will be masked. Due to the nature of the study, it is not possible to mask the participants or the care providers/investigators.

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
20 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* To have had type 1 diabetes for at least 1 year * Age \>=20 years old

Exclusion criteria

* Cardiovascular disease NYHA class IIIB or more * Kidney disease \> stadium 3 * Liver disease, alanine aminotransferase (ALAT) ≥ 2 µkat/L, * BMI \< 18.5 kg/m\^2 * c-peptide ≥ 0.3 nmol/l * Pregnant/breastfeeding women, women that plan to get pregnant during study period * Other circumstances, which, according to the examiner, make it difficult for an individual to participate.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Change in insulin usescreening, day 0, 3 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 12 monthsmeasured in international units (IU) and percentage.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Change in HbA1cscreening, 3 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 12 monthsmmol/mol
Change in concentration of total cholesterolscreening, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 12 monthsmmol/L
Change in concentration of triglyceridesscreening, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 12 monthsmmol/L
Change in concentration of HDL-cholesterolscreening, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 12 monthsmmol/L
Change in concentration of LDL-cholesterolscreening, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 12 monthsmmol/L
Ratio of LDL/HDLscreening, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 12 monthsabsolute number
Concentration of glucagonscreening, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 12 monthspmol/L
Change in markers of glycemic variability (TIR, TAR, TBR, mean sensor glucose with SD, CV)screening, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 12 monthsmmol/L
Change in weightscreening, 3 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 12 monthskg
Change in BMIscreening, 3 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 12 monthskg/m\^2
Change in abdominal circumferencescreening, 3 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 12 monthscm
Change in concentration of p-creatininescreening, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 12 monthsmicromol/L
Change in estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate (eGFR)screening, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 12 monthsmL/min/1,73 m2
Change in microalbuminuriascreening, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 12 monthsmorning U-Alb/Crea (mg/mmol)
Concentration of Insulin-like Growth Factor 1 (IGF-I)screening, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 12 monthsmicrog/L
Concentration of Insulin-like Growth Factor - binding protein 1 (IGFBP-1)screening, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 12 monthsmicrog/L
Concentration of leptinscreening, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 12 monthsmicrog/L
Concentration of adiponectinscreening, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 12 monthsmg/L
Concentration of interleukin 6 (IL-6)screening, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 12 monthsng/L
Concentration of high sensitivity c-Reactive Protein (Hs-CRP)screening, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 12 monthsmg/L
Measurement of lipopolysaccharides (LPS) activity using the Limulus Amebocyte Lysate (LAL) assayscreening, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 12 monthsmeasured in endotoxin units (EU)/ml
Concentration of glutaredoxin 1 (GRX-1)screening, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 12 months
Concentration of Oxidized LDLscreening, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 12 months
Total Antioxidant Capacity (TAC)screening, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 12 months
Concentration of reactive oxygen species (ROS)screening, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 12 months
Plasma metabolites assessed by untargeted liquid chromatography - mass spectrometry (LC-MS) metabolomicsscreening, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 12 months
Score from the Short Form 36 (SF-36) questionnairescreening, 3 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 12 monthsThe Short Form (36) Health Survey is a 36-item, patient-reported survey of patient health.The SF-36 consists of eight scaled scores, which are the weighted sums of the questions in their section. Each scale is directly transformed into a 0-100 scale on the assumption that each question carries equal weight. The lower the score the more disability. The higher the score the less disability i.e., a score of zero is equivalent to maximum disability and a score of 100 is equivalent to no disability.
Score from the Well-being Questionnaire-12 (WBQ-12)screening, 3 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 12 monthsThis questionnaire is designed to measure general well-being, including negative well-being, energy and positive well-being. The negative well-being scale score (range 0-12) is reversed and then summed with the Energy score (range 0-12) and Positive score (range 0-12) to produce a general well-being score (range 0-36). The higher the score the greater the sense of general well-being.
Score from the Diabetes Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire (DTSQ)screening, 3 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 12 monthsThe DTSQ has been developed to assess patient satisfaction with diabetes treatment. The questionnaire is composed of two different factors. The first factor assesses treatment satisfaction and consists of six questions and the second factor consists of two questions, which assess the burden from hyper- and hypoglycemia. Treatment satisfaction is assessed as the sum of the scores of the six questions on the first factor (total score 36), with a higher score indicating higher treatment satisfaction.
Time taken to complete the Trail making test A+Bscreening, 3 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 12 monthsThe Trail Making Test is a neuropsychological test of visual attention and task switching. It consists of two parts in which the subject is instructed to connect a set of 25 dots as quickly as possible while still maintaining accuracy. The time taken to complete the test is used as the primary performance metric, measured in seconds and or minutes.

Countries

Sweden

Contacts

PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORAnneli Björklund, MD, PhD

Department of Endocrinology at Karolinska University Hospital and Academic Specialistcentrum

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Jul 21, 2026