The influence of patient variables on insulin total daily dose in paediatric inpatients with new onset type 1 diabetes mellitus

Catabolism of fats and branched-chain amino acids in children with Type 1 diabetes: Association with glycaemic control and total daily insulin dose

OBJECTIVE

Hyperglycaemia in Type 1 diabetes (T1D) results from an absolute insulin deficiency. However, insulin resistance (IR) may exacerbate glycaemic instability in T1D and contribute to long-term cardiovascular complications. We previously showed that IR in teenagers with obesity is associated with sex-dependent derangements in the catabolism of branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) and fatty acids. Here we hypothesized that byproducts of BCAA and fatty acid metabolism may serve as biomarkers or determinants of glycaemic control and IR in prepubertal or early pubertal children with T1D.

METHODS

Metabolites, hormones and cytokines from fasting blood samples were analysed in 28 children (15 females, 13 males; age 6-11 years) with T1D. Principal components analysis (PCA) and multiple linear regression models were used to correlate metabolites of interest with glycaemic control, total daily insulin dose (TDD, units/kg/d), adiponectin and the triglyceride (TG) to high-density lipoprotein (HDL) ratio.

RESULTS

Males and females were comparable in age, BMI-z, insulin sensitivity, glycaemic control, inflammatory markers, BCAAs and C2/C3/C5-acylcarnitines. The majority of components retained in PCA were related to fatty acid oxidation (FAO) and BCAA catabolism. HbA1c correlated positively with Factor 2 (acylcarnitines, incomplete FAO) and Factor 9 (fasting glucose). TDD correlated negatively with C3 and C5 and Factor 10 (BCAA catabolism) and positively with the ratio of C2 to C3 + C5 and Factor 9 (fasting glucose).

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest that glucose intolerance in prepubertal or early pubertal children with T1D is accompanied by incomplete FAO while TDD is associated with preferential catabolism of fats relative to amino acids.