Rates of diabetes mellitus-related complications in a contemporary adolescent cohort.
BACKGROUND
Ten years after the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial there is a paucity of data as to what are current rates of diabetes-related complications in adolescence.


OBJECTIVE
To assess the incidence of diabetes-related complications in a contemporary cohort of adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus.


METHODS
Retrospective cross-sectional survey.


METHODS
Adolescents aged >10 years with type 1 diabetes mellitus for >5 years from the Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne Diabetes Clinic.


RESULTS
382 patients were studied (191 male). The mean HbA1c for males was 8.72% and for females was 8.80%. The rates of hypothyroidism and hypercholesterolaemia were 1.5% and 22% respectively. Twenty-five patients (8%) had intermittent microalbuminuria and six (2%) had persistent microalbuminuria. Only one patient had macroalbuminuria (0.3%). Only two patients (0.7%) with mild non-were diagnosed proliferative diabetic retinopathy. Coeliac disease was diagnosed in 6% of patients.


CONCLUSIONS
In this representative and contemporary cohort of diabetic adolescents the incidence of microvascular diabetes-related complications is quite low.
Kong
A
A
Centre for Hormone Research, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia.
Donath
S
S
Harper
C A
CA
Werther
G A
GA
Cameron
F J
FJ
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D048909:Diabetes Complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000150:complications*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male