Size of pancreas in children and adolescents with type I (insulin-dependent) diabetes.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) on the size of the pancreas in children.


METHODS
Pancreas size was evaluated sonographically in a group of 60 diabetic children and adolescents, aged 3-15 years, and 60 sex- and age-matched healthy controls.


RESULTS
A significant reduction in pancreatic area and other parameters was found in diabetic patients particularly in children aged 8-12 and 13-15 years. The pancreas was larger in children 3-7 years old who had had IDDM for 2 years of less (mean size, 8.61 cm2) than in children 8-12 and 13-15 years old who had had IDDM for more than 5 years (mean size, 8.06 and 8.40 cm2, respectively). An inverse correlation between area of the pancreas and duration of IDDM was seen in all age groups (p < 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Diabetes affects the growth of the pancreas in children with IDDM. Sonography can be used to noninvasively evaluate the influence of the disease on pancreas size.
Altobelli
E
E
Epidemiological Research Centre, Faculty of Medicine, University of L'Aquila, Coppito, Italy.
Blasetti
A
A
Verrotti
A
A
Di Giandomenico
V
V
Bonomo
L
L
Chiarelli
F
F
D000293:Adolescent; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D010179:Pancreas / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D014463:Ultrasonography