Introduction: Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (T1DM) is an autoimmune disease identified by the
failure to produce insulin due to the destruction of pancreatic β cells, resulting from the
interaction of various environmental and genetic factors. Nutritional therapy is the most
important tool for successful treatment of patients with T1DM, contributing to glycemic control
and supplying the energy and nutritional needs of individuals. Thus, the Carbohydrate Counting
(CC) is a nutritional strategy that is based on estimating the grams of carbohydrates that will be
ingested at each meal, enabling the knowledge of the effects on blood glucose. Some studies
show the beneficial relationship between adherence to CC and clinical and anthropometric data
in people with T1DM, but Brazilian studies evaluating the relationship between clinical and
anthropometric measures and CC for people with T1DM are still scarce. Aim: To verify the
association between the clinical and anthropometric profile and adherence to CC by people with
T1DM. Methodology: This is a cross-sectional, descriptive and analytical study carried out with
adults with T1DM, of both sexes, who knew the CC strategy. Data were collected through an
online form, which contained questions regarding knowledge of CC and clinical and
anthropometric data. For data analysis, the Statistical Package for Social Science software,
version 24.0, was used, with descriptive data categorized into absolute frequency and
proportion, and in the analytical phase, Pearson's Chi-Square test, with residual analysis. A
statistical significance level of p<0.05 was considered. Results: A total of 188 people with
T1DM were evaluated, most of them with a diagnosis time of more than 10 years (n=120;
63.8%), eutrophic (n=105; 55.9%) and with a mean BMI of 25.0 ±4, 5 kg/m2, had increased
HbA1c (n=104; 55.3%) and had CC (n=105; 55.9%). There was an association between
adherence to the CC and having been tested for HbA1c for up to 3 months (p=0.037), adequate
HbA1c (p=0.017), having more than 10 years of T1DM diagnosis (p=0.002) and between
adequate HbA1c and performing of CC at lunch (p=0.034) and dinner (p=0.019), using CC
applications (p=0.001) and non-specific CC applications (p<0.001), as a way of researching the
amount of carbohydrates. Conclusion: After carrying out this study, it is concluded that not
performing CC may be associated with obesity, adherence to CC is associated with better
glycemic control, with the measurement of HbA1c at the correct time and seems to be higher
over the time of diagnosis , as well as the use of cell phone applications seems to help in
adherence to this nutritional therapy strategy. Thus, the study was fundamental, as it appears
that adherence to CC is a nutritional strategy of extreme importance in maintaining adequate
clinical and anthropometric characteristics during the treatment of DM1.
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