For type 1 diabetes patients, a episode of psychological stress significantly slows the decline in blood sugar concentrations following a spike after food intake — but has no effect on sugar levels during fasting — a new study shows.
While psychological stress has been proposed to affect blood sugar levels in diabetic individuals, studies investigating the potential link have had conflicting results, Dr. Peter Wiesli of the University Hospital of Zurich and colleagues note in the journal Diabetes Care. They therefore conducted the current study to test their hypothesis that the stress response would differ between a fasting period and after eating a meal.
The team compared the effects of stress on 20 fasting patients and another 20 patients who had eaten a standard meal 75 minutes previously. Blood sugar and other indicators were measured for each group on a day a stress test was administered and on a day in which it was not.
Acute mental stress should be accepted as a potential explanation for (sugar) excursions, particularly in the context of a preceding meal. Patients with type 1 diabetes should be aware of the potential for this effect when they experience mental stress after eating.