title: Clinical heterogeneity of insulin dependent diabetes mellitus in Korea.
abstract: This study was undertaken to find out how many current Korean patients with insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) had a previous history of non-insulin requiring phase. Fasting serum C-peptide levels were measured in the 2300 diabetic patients during the visit to the Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Korea. Fifty-nine patients showed fasting serum C-peptide levels below 0.13 nmol/l. These 59 patients were classified further into two groups according to their history of insulin requirement: group A who required insulin within 1 year after diagnosis or presented initially as diabetic ketoacidosis and group B who had non-insulin requiring phase at least for 1 year (median: 5 years; range: 1-23 years). Twenty-six patients (44%) were classified into group A and 27 patients (46%) into group B. Median age of onset was 26 years (range: 10-50 years) and 45 years (range: 23-73 years) in groups A and B, respectively (P < 0.001). While the two groups had similar values in the current and maximum body mass indices, sex ratio and the prevalence of islet cell antibodies, 58% of the group A and 7% of the group B patients had histories of diabetic ketoacidosis. These results suggest a clinical heterogeneity in patients with IDDM in Korea.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Ulsan, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: K U
authors.initials: KU
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: S W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: J Y
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: K S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Ko
authors.forename: B D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Rhee
authors.forename: H K
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Min
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017668:Age of Onset; D000368:Aged; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002096:C-Peptide / Q000097:blood*; D002648:Child; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000097:blood / Q000145:classification* / Q000503:physiopathology; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000097:blood / Q000145:classification* / Q000503:physiopathology; D016883:Diabetic Ketoacidosis / Q000503:physiopathology; D005215:Fasting; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007328:Insulin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D007723:Korea; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
chemical_list: D002096:C-Peptide; D007328:Insulin