Chronic complications of type 1 diabetes mellitus in children

Abstract

Abstract Objectives: To evaluate the frequency of chronic complications and identify thepredicting factors that may be used for their early detection. Material and Method: The research group included 144 T1DM children with disease duration > 5 years ordisease onset during puberty. Complication screening included: full ophthalmologicexamination, UAE level determination, diabetic neuropathy assessment. Results: Retinopathy prevalence was 12.5 %. Factors associated with retinopathy were:hyperglycemia, duration of diabetes and dyslipidemia. Microalbuminuria wasdetected in 23 patients (15.97%) and correlated with HbA1c or insulin therapyregimen. Diabetic neuropathy prevalence (45.8%) was studied in relation to UAE.Peripheral somatic neuropathy was significantly correlated with the diabeticnephropathy stage. Autonomic neuropathy was detected only in 13.8% patients, yetits prevalence increased with the increase in UAE. Conclusions: Chronic diabeticcomplications are relatively less frequent as compared to adults, yet their evolutionis distinct due to the age-specific characteristics.