PMID 34886337

Research
All papers

Effect of High-Intensity Interval Training on Quality of Life, Sleep Quality, Exercise Motivation and Enjoyment in Sedentary People with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

Alarcón-Gómez J, Chulvi-Medrano I, Martin-Rivera F, Calatayud J

Question

Does supervised HIIT improve quality of life, sleep quality, exercise motivation, and enjoyment in sedentary adults with type 1 diabetes?

Summary

In sedentary adults with type 1 diabetes, 6 weeks of supervised cycling HIIT improved several self-reported quality-of-life domains, sleep quality, exercise enjoyment, and more self-determined motivation compared with a lifestyle-maintenance control group. Mild hypoglycemia occurred after 1.5% of training sessions and resolved with carbohydrate intake and rest. The study was small and short.

Methodology

  • Nineteen sedentary adults with type 1 diabetes: HIIT n=11 and control n=8. Participants were 18-45 years old, had type 1 diabetes for more than 4 years, HbA1c below 10%, no structured exercise in the prior 6 months, and no known comorbidities.
  • 19 participants.
  • Cycle ergometer HIIT.
  • Work intervals: 30 sec.
  • Recovery: 1 min.
  • Intensity: High-intensity bouts at 85% peak power output; active recovery at 40% peak power output.
  • About 28-40 min depending on progression.
  • 3.
  • 6 weeks.
  • Randomized controlled parallel trial
  • Health-related quality of life by SF-36, Sleep quality by PSQI, Exercise motivation by BREQ-2, and Exercise enjoyment by PACES were tracked.

Outcomes

SF-36 quality-of-life domains

HIIT improved several SF-36 domains including physical functioning, physical role limitations, pain, general health, energy/fatigue, and social functioning; control did not change.

No clear change

Sleep quality

Sleep quality improved in the HIIT group, with PSQI indicating a move toward better sleep quality.

Improved

Exercise motivation

HIIT improved intrinsic and identified motivation and reduced external regulation and amotivation; control did not show comparable changes.

No clear change

Exercise enjoyment increased after HIIT.

Exercise enjoyment increased after HIIT.

Improved

Mild hypoglycemia events

Three mild hypoglycemia cases occurred in 198 training sessions (1.5%), immediately after exercise, and resolved with rest and carbohydrate ingestion.

Mixed

Insights

  • Supervised HIIT can be enjoyable and motivating in a clinical group when safety rules are explicit.
  • Consumer products should not generalize this to unsupervised T1DM HIIT without glucose monitoring and medical guidance.
  • Short progressive interval prescriptions may support perceived quality-of-life and motivation outcomes.

Limitations

  • Small sample and short intervention.
  • No type 1 diabetes-specific quality-of-life questionnaire.
  • No objective sleep measurement.
  • Diet was not measured.
  • No medical specialists were part of the research team, although university medical services were aware.

Safety

  • Three mild hypoglycemia cases (mean 67.9 +/- 2.6 mg/dL) occurred immediately after exercise.
  • No adverse cardiac, respiratory, or musculoskeletal injuries were reported.
  • No hyperglycemia, nocturnal hypoglycemia, or ketoacidosis was reported.