ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Genetic factors modulate lipid levels and an intrafamilial aggregation of abnormal lipid profiles has been reported in the general population. As dyslipidemia is common among people with diabetes and has been related to diabetic nephropathy, we investigated whether parental lipid levels were related to lipids and albumin excretion in young offspring with childhood-onset type 1 diabetes (T1D). METHODS: Non-fasting blood samples were collected from 895 offspring, 808 mothers and 582 fathers. Total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and non-HDL-C were measured. Three early morning urinary albumin-creatinine ratios (ACR), hemoglobin A1C (HbA1c) and anthropometric parameters were also assessed. RESULTS: The offspring's mean age (±SD) was 14.5 ± 2.2 yr, mean diabetes duration 5.5 ± 3.7 yr; the fathers' age was 45.7 ± 6.1 yr and the mothers' age was 42.8 ± 5.5 yr. After adjusting for the offspring age, gender, body mass index, HbA1c, maternal (TC: ß = 0.242; TG: ß = 0.152; HDL-C: ß = 0.285; LDL-C: ß = 0.278; non-HDL-C: ß = 0.253; all p < 0.001) and paternal lipid levels (TC: ß = 0.188; TG: ß = 0.108; HDL-C: ß = 0.253; LDL-C: ß = 0.187; non-HDL-C: ß = 0.173; all p < 0.001) were significantly associated with the offspring's lipid parameters. In contrast, no significant association was found between parental lipid levels and the offspring's ACR. CONCLUSIONS: In the present study, parental lipid levels were independently associated with the same traits in the offspring, suggesting a role of genetic influences and/or shared environmental factors in modulating the metabolic profile of adolescents with T1D. In contrast, there was no significant association between parental lipid levels and the offspring's albumin excretion.
