Czy edukacja żywieniowa prowadzona u pacjentów z cukrzycą typu 1 jest efektywna?

Introduction. Effective nutrition educationis a very important element of therapy of type 1 diabetes because it helps to maintain the metabolic control, prevents difficult-to-treat complications, and provides a better quality of life for patients. Aim. Evaluation of the effectiveness of nutrition education, based on a comparison of the knowledge level of patients with type 1 diabetes and healthy children and adolescents. Material and methods. The study group consisted of 60 girls and boys aged 11-17 years with type 1 diabetes, hospitalized in the Department of Diabetology at the SPDSK hospital in Warsaw. The control group included 60 healthy girls and boys aged 11-18 years, attending Warsaw schools. The study was conducted by means of diagnostic survey method. The authors used an original questionnaire. Results. For most questions, respondents from the study group answered correctly more oftenthan participants in the control group. The smallest discrepancies between the two groups were noted in the general knowledge about healthy nutrition (59% vs 45%). In case of nutrition issues characteristic for type 1 diabetes differences were about threefold (51% vs 16%). Furthermore, in the practical part approximately twofold difference in the percentage of correct responses was observed (72% vs 34%). Respondents from the study group more frequently answered correctly to the questions directly related to glycemic control. Nevertheless, the level of nutritional knowledge in the study group was insufficient. Conclusions. There is a strong need to intensify the nutrition education process among patients with type 1 diabetes, particularly in the field of practical issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]