Inpatient Fasting Options for People with T1d in German-Speaking Countrie - Abstract
Background: People with type 1 diabetes (t1d) are fasting with the intention to slow down or halt health deterioration or to improve their health condition. First promising results of research in this field are available. According to current fasting guidelines fasting is only recommended under medical supervision. Objectives: To survey the number of fasting clinics in German-speaking countries and the circumstances and capacities in relation to the readiness to care for patients with t1d during fasting. Methods: Based on the experiences of experts for fasting with t1d a structured interview guideline was developed. During the turn of the year 2020/2021 a telephone-based survey in German-speaking fasting clinics was conducted. Results: Eight out of a total of 15 inpatient fasting clinics agreed to participate in this survey. Only one clinic accepts t1d patients as a main diagnosis and has cared for more than 50 such patients to date. Five clinics reported previous experience, with 10 or fewer patients with t1d patients as a secondary diagnosis the care of this type of patients is very different between the clinics and does not consider current research results. Conclusions: Fasting under medical supervision in Germany for people with t1d seems to be challenging and should be enhanced using research. Furthermore, education for medical doctors in fasting clinics needs to be developed and provided