Dear Sportsci Colleagues,

As course for our regional Rugby League Cults team (U17-U19); the
implementation of Sport Science in our training regime is integral.

Before our most recent game; I measured several players' hydration
status by urine specific gravity (Pocket Refractometer, Atago) and
one result produced a "seriously dehydrated" state reading of 1.037
(National Athletic Trainers' Association, 2000)

After asking the player if they'd had a `big night' and the player
assuring me he hadn't; the player asked if his condition as a type 1
diabetic would influence the result…?

Even though the player is highly skilled, consistent, trains hard (in
all aspects) and has good guidance from a father who also played
internationally; learning of the player's diabetic status was an
initial surprise.

Knowing the player, not wanting to concern the player before a game,
and in an attempt to mentally gather my limited knowledge of diabetes
in high intensity training/sporting conditions, my initial response
was that "diabetes may have an effect on the specific gravity result –
don't worry about it and I'll chase up some information".
The player had administered Insulin throughout the morning and I am
not aware of the feeding patterns leading up to the urine assessment
(although easy enough to find out)

I'd really appreciate hearing from others with similar experiences
and management of diabetics in sport.
I'd also really appreciate any titles of reputable papers on the
topic of diabetics and hydration in sports performance.

Thanks and regards

Glen Ivey