Day-to-day variation of the glycemic response in subjects with insulin-dependent diabetes with standardized premeal blood glucose and prandial insulin concentrations.
To study the day-to-day variation in the glycemic response to a starch-rich meal in subjects with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM), eight young subjects with IDDM were served test meals of 100 g white bread on 3 separate days. They had achieved normoglycemia 2 h before the test meals by means of a glucose clamp and a constant insulin infusion was provided during the study period. Mean areas under the response curves of blood glucose to the three meals (above basal) were not different: 1067 +/- 93, 1028 +/- 91, and 970 +/- 42 mmol/L x 180 min (NS) and no difference in insulin concentrations was found. The mean (+/- 95% confidence interval) of blood glucose area under the response curves for one test meal was 1067 +/- 230 mmol/L x 180 min and for the test meal repeated three times was 1021 +/- 133 mmol/L x 180 min. Intra- and interperson components of variance were 26% and 74%, respectively, of the total variance of blood glucose areas.