Impact of macronutrients intake on glycemic homeostasis of preterm infants : evidence from continuous glucose monitoring

Abstract

Abstract Background Nutritional intake could influence blood glucose profile during early life of preterm infants. We investigated the impact of macronutrient’s intake, on glycemic homeostasis using continuous glucose monitoring(CGM). Methods We analyzed macronutrients intake in infants born ≤ 32 weeks gestational age (GA) and/or with birth weight ≤ 1500g enrolled. CGM was started within 48 hours of birth and maintained for 5 days. Hypoglycemia was defined as sensor glucose < 4mmol/L, hyperglycemia > 8 mmol/L. Results Data from 30 participants were included[age 29.9weeks(29.1; 31.2), birthweight 1230.5g(1040.0; 1458.6)]. A reduced time in hypoglycemia was associated to higher amino acids intake(p = 0.011) while increased exposure to hyperglycemia was observed in presence of higher lipids intake(p = 0.031). The birthweight was the strongest determinant of neonatal glucose profile with an inverse relationship between the time spent in hyperglycemia and birthweight (p = 0.007). Conclusions CGM allowed, for the first time, to describe the relationship between macronutrient’s intake and glycemic homeostasis in preterm infants.