We aimed to quantify stress-induced hyperglycemia and differentiate the glucose response between normal animals and those with diabetes. We also examined the pattern in glucose fluctuation induced by stress according to type of diabetes.

To load psychological stress on animal models, we used a predator stress model by exposing rats to a cat for 60 minutes and measured glucose level from the beginning to the end of the test to monitor glucose fluctuation. We induced type 1 diabetes model (T1D) for ten Sprague-Dawley rats using streptozotocin and used five Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty rats as obese type 2 diabetes model (OT2D) and 10 Goto-Kakizaki rats as nonobese type 2 diabetes model (NOT2D). We performed the stress loading test in both the normal and diabetic states and compared patterns of glucose fluctuation among the three models. We classified the pattern of glucose fluctuation into A, B, and C types according to speed of change in glucose level.

Increase in glucose, total amount of hyperglycemic exposure, time of stress-induced hyperglycemia, and speed of glucose increase were significantly increased in all models compared to the normal state. While the early increase in glucose after exposure to stress was higher in T1D and NOT2D, it was slower in OT2D. The rate of speed of the decrease in glucose level was highest in NOT2D and lowest in OT2D.

The diabetic state was more vulnerable to stress compared to the normal state in all models, and the pattern of glucose fluctuation differed among the three types of diabetes. The study provides basic evidence for stress-induced hyperglycemia patterns and characteristics used for the management of diabetes patients.