The Dietary Education Trial in Carbohydrate Counting (DIET-CARB Study in Type 1 Diabetes

The study is designed to evaluate two different dietitian-led self-management approaches in carbohydrate counting compared to routine dietary care (control) on glycaemic control in adult patients with type 1 diabetes: 1. The basic carbohydrate counting concept aims at improving carbohydrate counting accuracy and day-to-day consistency of carbohydrate intake (the BCC intervention) 2. The advanced carbohydrate counting concept aims at improving prandial insulin dose accuracy using an automated bolus calculator (the ABC-ACC intervention) The main hypothesis is that structured training and education in either the BCC concept or the ABC-ACC concept will reduce HbA1c or the average glucose variability more than routine dietary education.

The current study is a randomized controlled trial with a parallel-group design. A total of 231 patients will be enrolled in the trial. Participants will be randomized to one of three arms: 1) Basic carbohydrate counting (BCC), 2) Advanced carbohydrate counting with an automated bolus calculator (ABC-ACC), or 3) Standard dietary care. The primary objective is to evaluate the six months effects of education in the BCC concept and the ABC-ACC concept compared to standard dietary care on glycaemic control as assessed by HbA1c or MAGE (mean amplitude of glycaemic excursions).