Effects of hyperbaric oxygen on blood glucose levels in patients with diabetes mellitus, stroke or traumatic brain injury and healthy volunteers: a prospective, crossover, controlled trial.

What Researchers Did

Researchers conducted a prospective, crossover, controlled trial involving 39 participants to evaluate the effect of hyperbaric oxygen treatment (HBOT) on blood glucose levels compared to a control session.

What They Found

Across all 39 participants, blood glucose levels significantly decreased during both hyperbaric oxygen treatment (from 7.27 to 6.71 mmol/L, P = 0.037) and control sessions (from 7.43 to 6.71 mmol/L, P = 0.004). However, the reduction in blood glucose did not significantly differ between the HBOT and control conditions (P = 0.59) for the overall group or any of the individual subgroups.

Canadian Relevance

This study has no direct Canadian connection.

Study Limitations

A limitation is that the study was open label, and the observed blood glucose decrease was not uniquely attributable to hyperbaric oxygen treatment.