Background: The objective of this study is to determine the clinical profile of
Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) among
children .
Methods: Descriptive cross sectional study was conducted at B.P. Koirala institute of
Health Sciences (BPKIHS), Dharan,
Nepal , the eastern part of
Nepal . A total of 42 diabetic
children of less than 20 years old diagnosed with T1DM were included in the study. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews and
medical records of
patients attending diabetic clinic at the
time of follow up.
Results: The mean age at
diagnosis of
disease was 11.1'4.9 years.
Polyuria 33 (78.6%) was found to be the commonest symptom followed by
polydipsia 27 (64.3%),
weight loss 23 (54.8%) and
polyphagia 13 (30.9%). The mean duration of symptoms before
diagnosis was 14.3'9.7 days. DKA was present in 25 (59.5%)
children at the
time of
diagnosis . Mean
Glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) value was 10.6'2.7.
Obesity was observed in 9 (21.4%)
children . Nine (21.4%)
children had
family history of diabetes. In most of the cases, primary
caregiver was
mother , among them only 24 (57.2%) had formal
education . Almost half of the
caregivers were using FRIO, an
insulin cooling case, for
insulin storage.
Conclusions: Polyuria was the most common presenting symptom followed by
polydipsia ,
weight loss and
polyphagia . Moreover, most of the
children had landed up in diabetic keto-
acidosis (DKA) at the
time of
diagnosis . Therefore,
community awareness programs should be emphasized among
parents and
primary health care workers especially in
rural areas regarding T1DM for early recognition and prompt
treatment .