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.
Epidemiological Research Centre, Faculty of Medicine, University of L'Aquila, Coppito, Italy.
E
E
Altobelli
A
A
Blasetti
A
A
Verrotti
V
V
Di Giandomenico
L
L
Bonomo
F
F
Chiarelli
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