Body composition in young female adults with Type 1 diabetes mellitus. A prospective case-control study.

AIMS: Overweight is common during late puberty in female patients with Type 1 diabetes. The aim of this study was to examine the change in body composition from late puberty to early adulthood in such female patients in comparison with age-matched control subjects. METHODS: Eighteen females with Type 1 diabetes and 19 healthy female control subjects were recruited for a case-control study at the age of 16-19 years (baseline). Six years later, 16 of the diabetic females and 17 of the control subjects were re-examined (follow-up). Body composition was assessed by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. RESULTS: Body mass index (BMI) and fat mass index (total fat mass/height2) were significantly higher at baseline in the diabetic patients than in the control subjects (26.4 +/- 2.6 vs. 23.9 +/- 3.7 kg/m2, P < 0.05, and 10.0 +/- 2.4 vs. 8.0 +/- 2.8 kg/m2, P = 0.04, respectively). At follow-up, these parameters still tended to be higher in the diabetic group (27.8 +/- 4.9 vs. 24.6 +/- 5.7 kg/m2, P = 0.09, and 11.8 +/- 5.6 vs. 8.7 +/- 4.9 kg/m2, P = 0.05, respectively). BMI at baseline was strongly correlated to BMI at follow-up in both diabetic patients (r = 0.60; P < 0.05) and control subjects (r = 0.83; P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Increased fat mass in pubertal girls with Type 1 diabetes seems to persist in young adulthood. This study emphasizes the need for new strategies to prevent the development of overweight during puberty in diabetic girls.

Body composition and bone mineral density in long-standing type 1 diabetes.

OBJECTIVES: To study body composition and bone mineral density (BMD) in adult patients with long-standing type 1 diabetes mellitus. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: In a population-based study, body composition and BMD were evaluated by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry in 38 patients with type 1 diabetes since childhood, compared with 38 age- and sex-matched controls. The mean age was 43 years (range 33-55 years) and the mean duration of diabetes was 33 years (range 28-37 years). RESULTS: Besides a tendency to a reduced abdominal fat mass in diabetic males, no difference was observed in fat mass, muscle mass, or BMD between the groups. Significant correlations were found between insulin dosage and whole body fat mass in diabetic females and between serum cholesterol levels and abdominal fat mass in diabetic males. CONCLUSION: Patients with long-standing type 1 diabetes with onset in childhood and adolescence seem to show only minor differences in body composition and no difference in BMD compared with closely matched healthy controls.

Body composition in adolescent girls with type 1 diabetes.

AIMS: To compare body composition in adolescent girls with Type 1 diabetes with healthy controls. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: In this population-based study, body composition was examined, using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and skinfold measurements, in 18 adolescent post-menarcheal females, 16-19 years of age, with Type 1 diabetes since childhood in comparison to age-matched healthy control subjects. RESULTS: Body mass index was 2.7 kg/m2 higher in diabetic patients (26.3 +/- 2.6 vs. 23.6 +/- 3.8; P < 0.05). The overweight consisted almost entirely of increased fat mass, as evaluated by both skinfold measurements and DXA. Bone mineral density did not differ between the two groups. In diabetic females, the distribution of the fat mass was increased in the upper part of the body. The fat distribution, expressed as the abdominal-to-leg ratio, was significantly correlated to glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) (r = 0.69; P < 0.005), daily dosage of insulin expressed per kilogram body weight (r = 0.78; P < 0.0005) and total cholesterol (r = 0.60; P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The observed overweight in adolescent females with Type 1 diabetes is explained by an increased fat mass. Abdominal fat accumulation was associated with poor glycaemic control, increased need for insulin and elevated blood lipids.

Prevalence of urinary tract symptoms in long-standing type 1 diabetes mellitus.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of urinary tract symptoms in a population-based cohort of 109 young adult patients with Type 1 diabetes mellitus with onset at < 16 years versus 208 sex- and age-matched controls. A validated postal questionnaire was used (response rate 87.2% in diabetic patients vs 77.4% in controls). Diabetic female patients had been treated more often than controls with antibiotics for urinary tract infections (UTI): 35/48 and 39/82 respectively; p < 0.01. Diabetic female patients with HbA1c > 9.0% did not have significantly more treated UTIs than those with HbA1c < or = 9.0%. Diabetic female patients had more social problems than controls in daily life because of urinary tract problems (11/48 and 3/82 respectively; p < 0.005) and used clamps to prevent wetting more often than did controls (5/48 vs 1/82, p < 0.05), whereas diabetic male patients never used condoms to prevent wetting. In conclusion, female but not male diabetic patients with long-standing Type 1 diabetes mellitus had increased frequency of treated UTIs. Urinary tract problems also interfered with normal social activities in female diabetic patients who had a greater need for clamps to prevent wetting.

Social consequences of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus are limited: a population-based comparison of young adult patients vs healthy controls.

In a population-based study, the social situation of 91 young adult patients with Type 1 diabetes mellitus (IDDM) since childhood was compared to that of an age- and sex-matched group of 189 healthy persons. Their mean age was 37.2 years, duration of diabetes 28.7 years and severe complications were present in 13 of the 91 patients. A nearly 10-fold increased mortality rate was found in diabetic patients, mainly due to diabetic nephropathy and trauma, including suicide. The employment rate was lower in diabetic patients (71% vs 85%, p < 0.05); the need for welfare benefits was greater (15% vs 3%, p < 0.01). These differences were mainly the consequence of diabetic late complications. Education, housing conditions, life style, civil state, alcohol and smoking habits were similar in both groups. Confidence in the future was slightly less in diabetic patients (p < 0.05). In conclusion, besides an increased mortality rate, the present study has shown no serious social consequences in adult Type 1 diabetic patients without severe late complications, as compared to matched controls. Our results indicate that IDDM affects social life only to a limited extent, in the absence of severe vascular complications.

Increased prevalence of upper gastrointestinal symptoms in long-term type 1 diabetes mellitus.

Using a validated postal questionnaire, we investigated the frequency of 24 gastrointestinal symptoms during the previous 3 months in a cohort of 110 young adult patients (54 males and 56 females, mean age 37.2 +/- 4.7 years) with onset of Type 1 diabetes mellitus at < 16 years of age. They were compared with 210 age- and sex-matched controls (104 males and 106 females). The main difference in the frequency of various symptoms between the two groups was a significant increase among the diabetic patients in upper gastrointestinal symptoms, such as loss of appetite (17.8% vs 3.6%, p < 0.001), early satiety (26.8% vs 6.1%, p < 0.001), nausea (22.7% vs 9.1%, p < 0.01) and vomiting (12.2% vs 3.0%, p < 0.01). No difference was noted in the frequency of symptoms from the lower gastrointestinal tract, apart from a significant increase in the feeling of incomplete defaecation (28.6% vs 17.0%, p < 0.04) in the diabetic patients. Patients with levels of haemoglobin A1c in the highest quartile had significantly more gastrointestinal symptoms than other diabetic patients. Further, the prevalence of symptoms was higher in females than in males. In conclusion, long-term Type 1 diabetes is accompanied by a markedly increased frequency of upper gastrointestinal symptoms, mainly in females and patients with poor metabolic control.