Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Childhood Diabetes:

Cardiovascular Risk in Children and Adolescents with Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Rising rates of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus in children have led to increased concern regarding cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk during childhood. Diabetic children face prolonged exposure to hyperglycemia, and have increased risk of both microvascular and macrovascular disease. These circumstances may result in a generation of young adults presenting with cardiovascular outcomes, a tremendous personal and public health toll. In this article, we review CVD risk in type 1 and type 2 diabetes, discuss aspects of pathophysiology, and review current methods of CVD risk assessment. We also identify crucial areas in need of future research in order to devise effective prevention and treatment of CVD risk in children.

A nursing educational intervention helped by One Touch UltraSmart improves monitoring and glycated haemoglobin levels in type I diabetic children

OBJECTIVES

To improve the monitoring and control of glycated haemoglobin in insulin-dependent children. This article describes an educational intervention for this purpose where One Touch UltraSmart Software was used to manage diabetes. The results showed that this intervention helped to reduce the levels of blood glucose and glycated haemoglobin to less than 7%.

BACKGROUND

Various research studies have been performed on the effective control of glycated haemoglobin values in diabetic children by means of technological devices. However, none of this research has evaluated the impact of an educational intervention in conjunction with the use of monitoring instruments such as One Touch UltraSmart.

DESIGN

We present an 18-month longitudinal, analytical and observational study of 37 type 1 diabetic patients, 9-16 years of age. For each patient, initial and final values of glycated haemoglobin and the number of blood glucose controls were recorded.

METHODOLOGY

For the purposes of our study seven educational workshops, attended by diabetic children and their parents, were conducted. In addition, participants were asked to complete a brief questionnaire so that information could be gathered regarding the eating and exercise habits of the patients.

RESULTS

This educational intervention using One Touch UltraSmart led to a statistically significant average reduction of glycated haemoglobin.

CONCLUSIONS

Our research showed that the use of One Touch UltraSmart in the context of an educational intervention raised the awareness of the diabetic children and thus helped them to effectively control their disease and to fully understand the necessity of having good dietary and exercise habits.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE

It can be concluded that the educational intervention led to a significant improvement in the dietary habits of these patients and also helped them to exercise regularly, all of which has a positive impact on their health.

Influence of food intake, age, gender, HbA1c, and BMI levels on plasma cholesterol in 29,979 children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes--reference data from the German diabetes documentation and quality management system (DPV)

OBJECTIVE

We investigated influences of a 12-h fast, age, gender, body mass index (BMI), hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) on total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) to provide reference percentiles for TC, LDL-C, and HDL-C of patients with good diabetes control (HbA1c < 7.5%) and normal weight (BMI < 90th percentile).

METHOD

A cross-sectional analysis of the diabetes documentation and quality management system using the diabetes data acquisition system for prospective surveillance (DPV) software included 29 979 patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) aged 1-20 yr (52.4% male) from 253 diabetes centers in Germany and Austria.

RESULTS

Fasting had no relevant influence on TC, LDL-C, and HDL-C. Multivariate regression analysis revealed strongest dependences of cholesterol on gender and HbA1c followed by BMI and age. Reference cholesterol percentiles of well-controlled and normal weight patients showed TC >or=4.40 mmol/L (170 mg/dL) corresponding to the 50th percentile in females and the 75th percentile in males. LDL-C >or=2.59 mmol/L (100 mg/dL) corresponded to the 50th-75th percentile in females and the 75th percentile in males.

CONCLUSIONS

(i) Fasting is no precondition for the determination of TC, LDL-C, and HDL-C; (ii) TC, LDL-C, and HDL-C are strongest associated with gender and HbA1c followed by BMI and age; (iii) Gender- and age-adjusted cholesterol percentiles of well-controlled and normal weight patients with T1DM may serve as reference values and are similar to healthy German children; and (iv) Single target values for TC, LDL-C, and HDL-C based on healthy individuals' data do not sufficiently characterize abnormal cholesterol levels in young patients with T1DM.

High prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes: a population-based study

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS

The risk of dying of cardiovascular disease (CVD) before the age of 40 years is increased nearly 20-fold in patients with type 1 diabetes compared with non-diabetic persons. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of CVD risk factors in a population-based study of children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes.

METHODS

CVD risk factors were examined according to the American Diabetes Association criteria in 2005. Of 26 paediatric clinics in Norway, 25 participated with 1,658 patients, 85% of those eligible. Mean age was 13.1 years and mean diabetes duration 5.7 years.

RESULTS

HbA(1c) was above the target level in 71.4%. A positive family history of early CVD and/or diabetes was found in 33% of participants. LDL-cholesterol was >2.6 mmol/l in 34.5% and HDL-cholesterol was <1.1 mmol/l in 6.9% of participants. Blood pressure was above the 90th percentile by age, sex and height in 7% and above the 95th percentile in 4% of participants. Four per cent of participants were obese, 3% of those >or=12 years of age reported smoking and 1% of all participants had persistent microalbuminuria. Only 0.2% of the patients were receiving statin and 0.3% anti-hypertensive treatments. Dietary habits and physical activity level were evaluated in some patients. Almost all had higher intake of dietary fat and lower intake of fibre than recommended. A large part was less active and watched more TV than recommended.

CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION

Of the participants, 86% had at least one, 45% at least two and 15% at least three CVD risk factors. Few patients were treated with statins and anti-hypertensive drugs.

Early atherosclerosis in childhood type 1 diabetes: role of raised systolic blood pressure in the absence of dyslipidaemia

The intentions of our investigation were (1) to search for atherogenic risk factors and signs of incipient atherosclerosis in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes (T1DM) in comparison to well-matched control subjects, (2) to evaluate risk factor associations with carotid intima media thickness (cIMT) in diabetic patients and control subjects, and (3) to acquire a better knowledge of early atherogenesis in children and adolescents with and without T1DM. 94 diabetic children (age median 12.3 years, HbA1c median 7.7%) and 40 non-diabetic controls (age median 12.3 years) were investigated. Mean cIMT was determined using high-resolution B-mode ultrasound with an automated contour identification procedure. Compared to controls, subjects with diabetes had significantly elevated cIMT (p = 0.041) and systolic BP (p = 0.007) but showed a less atherogenic lipid profile. Most markers of inflammation, endothelial function and fibrinolytic activity were higher in diabetic subjects than in controls. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed a significant relationship (r = 0.53, p = 0.036) between bilateral mean cIMT and diverse risk factors in patients with T1DM. Spearman rank correlation showed that diabetes duration (rho = 0.32, p = 0.029), systolic BP (rho = 0.32, p = 0.004), weight (rho = 0.257, p = 0.022), and height (rho = 0.265, p = 0.018) significantly correlated with bilateral mean cIMT in the 94 diabetic patients. In conclusion, in well-controlled type 1 diabetic children systolic BP may be of greater importance than dyslipidaemia in early atherogenesis. BMI, markers of sustained inflammation, endothelial dysfunction and fibrinolytic activity are increased in diabetic versus non-diabetic children but none of them correlates significantly with cIMT. Their prognostic value remains to be determined.

Management of Dyslipidemia in Special Populations

Dyslipidemia is a significant contributor to morbidity and mortality in the industrialized world. Because it is often intertwined with other medical conditions, its management is becoming progressively more complex. Populations that pose a particular challenge to clinicians include diabetic patients, children and adolescents, elderly persons, transplant patients, patients with the human immunodeficiency virus, and patients with chronic kidney disease. When establishing lipid goals, it is imperative to have a thorough understanding of the evidence, or lack thereof, supporting the use of lipid-lowering agents among these patients. To maximize the benefits and minimize the risks of pharmacological intervention, clinicians must consider not only the unique alterations in the lipid profile of the aforementioned populations but also individual changes in patients' pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic parameters, as well as the potential for drug-drug and drug-disease interactions.

Spectrum and prevalence of atherogenic risk factors in 27,358 children, adolescents, and young adults with type 1 diabetes: cross-sectional data from the German diabetes documentation and quality management system (DPV)

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this data analysis was to ascertain the type and prevalence rate as well as age and sex distribution of cardiovascular risk factors in type 1 diabetic patients up to 26 years of age.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

Cardiovascular risk factors such as obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia, poor glycemic control, and smoking were analyzed in 27,358 patients who were divided into three groups (prepubertal, pubertal, and adult) using specifically designed diabetes software for prospective disease documentation.

RESULTS

More than half of the patients per age-group had at least one cardiovascular risk factor. Two risk factors were age dependently found in 6.2-21.7% and three or four risk factors in 0.5-4.7%. Elevated values of HbA(1c), total cholesterol, and BMI were found most frequently. Hypertension, smoking, and HDL cholesterol were observed more frequently in males, and elevated BMI, total cholesterol, and LDL cholesterol more often in females. Although 28.6% of the patients had dyslipidemia, merely 0.4% of them received medical treatment, and of the 8.1% of the patients with hypertension, only 2.1% of them were given antihypertensive medication.

CONCLUSIONS

With increasing age, a greater number of patients with cardiovascular risk factors were observed. Significant sex differences were seen in the majority of risk factors. Despite the high prevalence of risk factors, only a small minority of patients received antihypertensive or lipid-lowering treatment. Early identification, prevention, and treatment of additional risk factors seem to be necessary, particularly in light of the high incidence of future cardiovascular disease.