Influence of serum cortisol levels on glycemic control in children with type 1 diabetes

ABSTRACT

The association between plasma glucose [PG], HbAlc and serum cortisol levels in children with type 1 diabetes was investigated to determine the influence of serum cortisol on their glycemic control. A total of 45 children, aged 10-15 years, with type 1 diabetes for at least 3 years of diabetes were studied. Most of them did not have pancreatic beta-cell function. The cortisol levels among all patients were stratified according to fasting plasma glucose levels [50-99, 100-199, 200-299, and >/= 300mg/dL], and the HbAlc levels [<7.0, 7.0-7.9, 8.0-8.9, and >/= 9%]. The mean fasting PG, HbAlc and serum cortisol levels were 174 +/- 97mg/dL, 7.7 +/- 1.3% and 23.04 +/- 16.6 ug/dl, respectively. The cortisol levels were highly correlated with PG levels [r =0.553, P<0.0001] and mildly correlated with HbAlc levels [r = 0.301, P =0.0192]. Patients with high PG levels gave significantly higher cortisol levels as compared to those with lower PG levels [18.4 +/- 7.3, 26.8 +/- 18.3, 31.4 +/- 17.0 and 36.3 +/- 17.2ug/dl, P =0.0009]. There were no significant differences in serum cortisol levels among patients stratified according to HbAlc levels [P = 0.1566], however, patients with HbAlc levels >/= 9% had significantly higher cortisol levels than those with HbAlc levels <7% [32.6 +/- 14.4 vs. 21.8 +/- 11.3ug/dl,P=0.0291]