DIABETES
Q UIZ Answers
1: A. Ozempic (semaglutide) is a non-insulin medication that is
injected once a week.
2: D. Fiasp (insulin aspart) is the first fast-acting insulin that has no
specific requirements for pre-meal dosing.
3: C. Moringa leaf. Native to India, Moringa leaf (Moringa oleifera,
Moringaceae) has been used among people of India, Asia and sub-
tropical climates. African residents often employ the plant to try to
self-treat a variety of conditions, including diabetes. Numerous studies,
such as those published in Molecules, Antioxidants, and Immunol-
ogy, Endocrine & Metabolic Agents in Medicinal Chemistry, suggest
the plant may have some benefits in conditions of insulin resistance,
including diabetes and polycystic ovarian syndrome. However, many
of these studies have been conducted in test tubes or animals, not
the human population—yet.
4: B. Native to India, the leaves of Mangifera indica, or mango, have
been shown to block the effects of alpha-glucosidase and beta-
amylase in test tubes—two enzymes that break down sugar and
starch, respectively, according to a study published in Antioxidants.
These results, along with some findings from other studies published
in 2018, suggest the plant may be useful in treating diabetes, but
researchers need to run more experiments.
5: B & D. Plants such as moringa, chia seeds and blueberries have
earned the title “superfood” because of their high concentrations
of vitamins, antioxidants and other nutrients in comparison to many
other plants. Incorporating these and other nutrient-dense foods into
your diet can certainly support a healthy diet; however, it’s important
to understand that, unfortunately, these foods may be expensive—
especially if you buy them as dietary supplements instead of as whole
foods. Even if you do choose to use these foods, you should still try
to eat well-balanced meals that incorporate plants from all colors of
the rainbow to make sure you get as many of the nutrients your body
needs for your overall health. And it never hurts to ask your doctor
before adding new foods or supplements to your diet. NEWS &
NOTES
T1D and School Performance
By Quinn Phillips
I
n the U.S. and around the world, there’s widespread
concern that having Type 1 diabetes may interfere with
how some children learn or perform in school.
Yet according to the results of a new study, some of those
fears may be unfounded. In fact, many children with Type 1
diabetes appear to perform better on certain tests than their
peers without the condition. But as the study makes clear,
there’s reason to fear that among children with diabetes, those
with less-than-ideal blood glucose control won’t perform as well.
Published in February 2019 in the Journal of the Ameri-
can Medical Association (JAMA), the study looked at scores
on standardized tests among over 630,000 schoolchildren
in Denmark.
The sample included children from the second to the
eighth grade, with an average age of just over 10. The
researchers combined math and reading scores from
the standardized test to come up with a composite score.
Out of the entire group of children, 2,031 had a con-
firmed diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes. Once the researchers
adjusted for a number of differences between the Type 1
group and the rest of the children—including their distri-
bution across grade levels and socioeconomic status—they
found no significant difference in test scores between
children with Type 1 diabetes and those without it.
The story changed, though, once the researchers fac-
tored HbA1c level (a measure of long-term blood glucose
control) into their calculations.
Among children with diabetes, the researchers saw a
relationship between lower HbA1c and better test scores.
In fact, children with diabetes with an HbA1c level below
7.5 percent had slightly better test scores than those with-
out diabetes. Those with an HbA1c above 8.6 percent, on
the other hand, had significantly worse test scores than
children without diabetes.
The researchers speculated that a couple of factors
might account for the superior test scores of children
with diabetes who had an HbA1c level below 7.5 percent.
One is that these children’s parents give them extra
attention and resources because of their diabetes, com-
pared with parents of other children. Another is that the
skills needed to maintain optimal blood glucose control
also translate to studying for and taking tests.
Regardless of the factors behind the good test scores in
some children with diabetes, the researchers caution that
their overall findings might not apply to other countries—
such as the United States—due to the excellent medical
and social care in Denmark, by international standards.
Further studies in the U.S. could demonstrate how
well children with Type 1 diabetes perform in school
relative to their peers and what factors might account
for their performance.
10 May/June 2019