A collaborative comparison of international pediatric diabetes registries

Treatment regimens and glycaemic outcomes in more than 100 000 children with type 1 diabetes (2013-22): a longitudinal analysis of data from paediatric diabetes registries

BACKGROUND

Advances in paediatric type 1 diabetes management and increased use of diabetes technology have led to improvements in glycaemia, reduced risk of severe hypoglycaemia, and improved quality of life. Since 1993, progressively lower HbA1c targets have been set. The aim of this study was to perform a longitudinal analysis of HbA1c, treatment regimens, and acute complications between 2013 and 2022 using data from eight national and one international paediatric diabetes registries.

METHODS

In this longitudinal analysis, we obtained data from the Australasian Diabetes Data Network, Czech National Childhood Diabetes Register, Danish Registry of Childhood and Adolescent Diabetes, Diabetes Prospective Follow-up Registry, Norwegian Childhood Diabetes Registry, England and Wales' National Paediatric Diabetes Audit, Swedish Childhood Diabetes Registry, T1D Exchange Quality Improvement Collaborative, and the SWEET initiative. All children (aged ≤18 years) with type 1 diabetes with a duration of longer than 3 months were included. Investigators compared data from 2013 to 2022; analyses performed on data were pre-defined and conducted separately by each respective registry. Data on demographics, HbA1c, treatment regimen, and event rates of diabetic ketoacidosis and severe hypoglycaemia were collected. ANOVA was performed to compare means between registries and years. Joinpoint regression analysis was used to study significant breakpoints in temporal trends.

FINDINGS

In 2022, data were available for 109 494 children from the national registries and 35 590 from SWEET. Between 2013 and 2022, the aggregated mean HbA1c decreased from 8·2% (95% CI 8·1-8·3%; 66·5 mmol/mol [65·2-67·7]) to 7·6% (7·5-7·7; 59·4mmol/mol [58·2-60·5]), and the proportion of participants who had achieved HbA1c targets of less than 7% (<53 mmol/mol) increased from 19·0% to 38·8% (p<0·0001). In 2013, the aggregate event rate of severe hypoglycaemia rate was 3·0 events per 100 person-years (95% CI 2·0-4·9) compared with 1·7 events per 100 person-years (1·0-2·7) in 2022. In 2013, the aggregate event rate of diabetic ketoacidosis was 3·1 events per 100 person-years (95% CI 2·0-4·8) compared with 2·2 events per 100 person-years (1·4-3·4) in 2022. The proportion of participants with insulin pump use increased from 42·9% (95% CI 40·4-45·5) in 2013 to 60·2% (95% CI 57·9-62·6) in 2022 (mean difference 17·3% [13·8-20·7]; p<0·0001), and the proportion of participants using continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) increased from 18·7% (95% CI 9·5-28·0) in 2016 to 81·7% (73·0-90·4) in 2022 (mean difference 63·0% [50·3-75·7]; p<0·0001).

INTERPRETATION

Between 2013 and 2022, glycaemic outcomes have improved, parallel to increased use of diabetes technology. Many children had HbA1c higher than the International Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Diabetes (ISPAD) 2022 target. Reassuringly, despite targeting lower HbA1c, severe hypoglycaemia event rates are decreasing. Even for children with type 1 diabetes who have access to specialised diabetes care and diabetes technology, further advances in diabetes management are required to assist with achieving ISPAD glycaemic targets.

FUNDING

None.

TRANSLATIONS

For the Norwegian, German, Czech, Danish and Swedish translations of the abstract see Supplementary Materials section.

Clinical characteristics, treatment, and treatment switch after molecular-genetic classification in individuals with maturity-onset diabetes of the young: Insights from the multicenter real-world DPV registry

BACKGROUND

Individuals with maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY) are often misdiagnosed as type 1 or type 2 diabetes and receive inappropriate care. We aimed to investigate the characteristics and treatment of all MODY types in a multicenter, real-world setting.

METHODS

Individuals with MODY from the diabetes prospective follow-up (DPV) registry were studied. We compared clinical parameters during the first year of diabetes and the most recent treatment year after MODY diagnosis.

RESULTS

A total of 1640 individuals were identified with GCK-MODY (n = 941) and HNF1A-MODY (n = 417) as the most frequent types. Among these, 912 individuals were available with information during the first and the most recent treatment year (median duration of follow-up: 4.2 years [2.6-6.6]). Positive beta cell autoantibodies were present in 20.6% (15.2% IAA). Median age at diagnosis ranged from 9.9 years in GCK-MODY (Q1-Q3: 6.2-13.1 years) and INS-MODY (2.7-13.7 years) to 14.3 years (5.0-17.1) in KCNJ11-MODY. Frequency of oral antidiabetic agents (OAD) use increased and insulin decreased in HNF4A-MODY (OAD: 18% to 39%, insulin: 34% to 23%) and in HNF1A-MODY (OAD: 18% to 31%, insulin: 35% to 25%). ABCC8-MODY was characterized by a decrement in nonpharmacological treatment (26% to 16%) and "insulin only" treatment (53% to 42%), while the proportion of individuals treated with OAD but no insulin increased from 0% to 21%.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results indicate that some teams caring for individuals with MODY are hesitant with regard to current recommendations. Registries are an essential source of information and provide a basis for discussing treatment guidelines for MODY.

Trends in the incidence of type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes in children and adolescents in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, from 2002 to 2022

AIMS

The objective of this study was to assess overall and segmented trends in the incidence of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in children and adolescents younger than 20 years, from 2002 to 2022.

METHODS

This study used registry data on physician-diagnosed T1DM or T2DM from primary and secondary sources, covering the German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia with 18 million inhabitants. The ages at T1DM and T2DM onset ranged from 0 to 19 and 10-19 years, respectively. The main outcomes were direct age- and/or sex-standardized incidence rates per 100,000 person-years (PYs) and trends estimated as annual percentage changes (APCs), both with 95 % confidence intervals. The segmented trends for subperiods were based on joinpoint regression models.

RESULTS

From 2002-2022, 17,470 and 819 persons had incident T1DM and T2DM, respectively. The total number of PYs was 73,743,982 for T1DM and 39,210,453 for T2DM, with a mean coverage rate of 98 % for T1DM and 90 % for T2DM. The standardized T1DM incidence increased from 17.6 [16.3;18.9} in 2002 to 33.2 [31.3;35.1] in 2022, with an APC of 2.7 % [2.3 %;3.1 %]. The standardized T2DM incidence increased from 1.3 [0.8;1.7] in 2002 to 2.8 [2.0;3.6] in 2022, with an APC of 6.4 % [4.9 %;8.0 %]. There were four different segmented trends for T1DM and T2DM, with the incidence peaking in 2021 and subsequently declining.

CONCLUSIONS

The incidence rates of T1DM and T2DM have increased over the past 20 years, with a wave-like pattern during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Partnering With Families Through Shared Decision-Making to Increase Connected Pen Use: A Quality Improvement Success Story

Quality Improvement Success Stories are published by the American Diabetes Association in collaboration with the American College of Physicians and the National Diabetes Education Program. This series is intended to highlight best practices and strategies from programs and clinics that have successfully improved the quality of care for people with diabetes or related conditions. Each article in the series is reviewed and follows a standard format developed by the editors of Clinical Diabetes. The following article is part of a special article collection from the T1D Exchange Quality Improvement Collaborative. It describes efforts at an academic pediatric diabetes clinic in Memphis, TN, to increase both the use of connected insulin pens (CIPs) and shared decision-making around diabetes technology aided by patient information and self-reflection handouts.

Diabetes and osteoporosis: a two-sample mendelian randomization study

BACKGROUND

The effects on bone mineral density (BMD)/fracture between type 1 (T1D) and type 2 (T2D) diabetes are unknown. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the causal relationship between the two types of diabetes and BMD/fracture using a Mendelian randomization (MR) design.

METHODS

A two-sample MR study was conducted to examine the causal relationship between diabetes and BMD/fracture, with three phenotypes (T1D, T2D, and glycosylated hemoglobin [HbA1c]) of diabetes as exposures and five phenotypes (femoral neck BMD [FN-BMD], lumbar spine BMD [LS-BMD], heel-BMD, total body BMD [TB-BMD], and fracture) as outcomes, combining MR-Egger, weighted median, simple mode, and inverse variance weighted (IVW) sensitivity assessments. Additionally, horizontal pleiotropy was evaluated and corrected using the residual sum and outlier approaches.

RESULTS

The IVW method showed that genetically predicted T1D was negatively associated with TB-BMD (β = -0.018, 95% CI: -0.030, -0.006), while T2D was positively associated with FN-BMD (β = 0.033, 95% CI: 0.003, 0.062), heel-BMD (β = 0.018, 95% CI: 0.006, 0.031), and TB-BMD (β = 0.050, 95% CI: 0.022, 0.079). Further, HbA1c was not associated with the five outcomes (β ranged from - 0.012 to 0.075).

CONCLUSIONS

Our results showed that T1D and T2D have different effects on BMD at the genetic level. BMD decreased in patients with T1D and increased in those with T2D. These findings highlight the complex interplay between diabetes and bone health, suggesting potential age-specific effects and genetic influences. To better understand the mechanisms of bone metabolism in patients with diabetes, further longitudinal studies are required to explain BMD changes in different types of diabetes.

Demographic, Clinical, Management, and Outcome Characteristics of 8,004 Young Children With Type 1 Diabetes

OBJECTIVE

To compare demographic, clinical, and therapeutic characteristics of children with type 1 diabetes age <6 years across three international registries: Diabetes Prospective Follow-Up Registry (DPV; Europe), T1D Exchange Quality Improvement Network (T1DX-QI; U.S.), and Australasian Diabetes Data Network (ADDN; Australasia).

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

An analysis was conducted comparing 2019-2021 prospective registry data from 8,004 children.

RESULTS

Mean ± SD ages at diabetes diagnosis were 3.2 ± 1.4 (DPV and ADDN) and 3.7 ± 1.8 years (T1DX-QI). Mean ± SD diabetes durations were 1.4 ± 1.3 (DPV), 1.4 ± 1.6 (T1DX-QI), and 1.5 ± 1.3 years (ADDN). BMI z scores were in the overweight range in 36.2% (DPV), 41.8% (T1DX-QI), and 50.0% (ADDN) of participants. Mean ± SD HbA1c varied among registries: DPV 7.3 ± 0.9% (56 ± 10 mmol/mol), T1DX-QI 8.0 ± 1.4% (64 ± 16 mmol/mol), and ADDN 7.7 ± 1.2% (61 ± 13 mmol/mol). Overall, 37.5% of children achieved the target HbA1c of <7.0% (53 mmol/mol): 43.6% in DPV, 25.5% in T1DX-QI, and 27.5% in ADDN. Use of diabetes technologies such as insulin pump (DPV 86.6%, T1DX 46.6%, and ADDN 39.2%) and continuous glucose monitoring (CGM; DPV 85.1%, T1DX-QI 57.6%, and ADDN 70.5%) varied among registries. Use of hybrid closed-loop (HCL) systems was uncommon (from 0.5% [ADDN] to 6.9% [DPV]).

CONCLUSIONS

Across three major registries, more than half of children age <6 years did not achieve the target HbA1c of <7.0% (53 mmol/mol). CGM was used by most participants, whereas insulin pump use varied across registries, and HCL system use was rare. The differences seen in glycemia and use of diabetes technologies among registries require further investigation to determine potential contributing factors and areas to target to improve the care of this vulnerable group.

Improving Outcomes for People with Type 1 Diabetes Through Collaboration: Summary of Type 1 Diabetes Exchange Quality Improvement Collaborative Studies

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) management has evolved over the last decade. Innovations and groundbreaking research have paved the way for improved outcomes for people with T1D. One of the major T1D focused research network that has supported real-world research studies in the United States is the T1D Exchange Quality Improvement Collaborative (T1DX-QI) Network.T1DX-QI is a large multicenter network of 55 T1D clinics that uses quality improvement, health equity framework, and population health principles to improve outcomes for people with T1D. This article summarizes insights from T1DX-QI clinical and population health improvement studies.

Characterisation of HNF1A variants in paediatric diabetes in Norway using functional and clinical investigations to unmask phenotype and monogenic diabetes

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS

Correctly diagnosing MODY is important, as individuals with this diagnosis can discontinue insulin injections; however, many people are misdiagnosed. We aimed to develop a robust approach for determining the pathogenicity of variants of uncertain significance in hepatocyte nuclear factor-1 alpha (HNF1A)-MODY and to obtain an accurate estimate of the prevalence of HNF1A-MODY in paediatric cases of diabetes.

METHODS

We extended our previous screening of the Norwegian Childhood Diabetes Registry by 830 additional samples and comprehensively genotyped HNF1A variants in autoantibody-negative participants using next-generation sequencing. Carriers of pathogenic variants were treated by local healthcare providers, and participants with novel likely pathogenic variants and variants of uncertain significance were enrolled in an investigator-initiated, non-randomised, open-label pilot study (ClinicalTrials.gov registration no. NCT04239586). To identify variants associated with HNF1A-MODY, we functionally characterised their pathogenicity and assessed the carriers' phenotype and treatment response to sulfonylurea.

RESULTS

In total, 615 autoantibody-negative participants among 4712 cases of paediatric diabetes underwent genetic sequencing, revealing 19 with HNF1A variants. We identified nine carriers with novel variants classified as variants of uncertain significance or likely to be pathogenic, while the remaining ten participants carried five pathogenic variants previously reported. Of the nine carriers with novel variants, six responded favourably to sulfonylurea. Functional investigations revealed their variants to be dysfunctional and demonstrated a correlation with the resulting phenotype, providing evidence for reclassifying these variants as pathogenic.

CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION

Based on this robust classification, we estimate that the prevalence of HNF1A-MODY is 0.3% in paediatric diabetes. Clinical phenotyping is challenging and functional investigations provide a strong complementary line of evidence. We demonstrate here that combining clinical phenotyping with functional protein studies provides a powerful tool to obtain a precise diagnosis of HNF1A-MODY.

Diabetes care practices and outcomes in 40.000 children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes from the SWEET registry during the COVID-19 pandemic

AIMS

This study aimed to provide a global insight into initiatives in type 1 diabetes care driven by the COVID-19 pandemic and associations with glycemic outcomes.

METHODS

An online questionnaire regarding diabetes care before and during the pandemic was sent to all centers (n=97, 66,985 youth with type 1 diabetes) active in the SWEET registry. Eighty-two responded, and 70 (42,798 youth with type 1 diabetes) had available data (from individuals with type 1 diabetes duration >3 months, aged ≤21 years) for all 4 years from 2018 to 2021. Statistical models were adjusted, among others, for technology use.

RESULTS

Sixty-five centers provided telemedicine during COVID-19. Among those centers naive to telemedicine before the pandemic (n=22), four continued only face-to-face visits. Centers that transitioned partially to telemedicine (n=32) showed a steady increase in HbA1c between 2018 and 2021 (p<0.001). Those that transitioned mainly to telemedicine (n=33%) improved HbA1c in 2021 compared to 2018 (p<0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Changes to models of care delivery driven by the pandemic showed significant associations with HbA1c shortly after the pandemic outbreak and 2 years of follow-up. The association appeared independent of the concomitant increase in technology use among youth with type 1 diabetes.

Availability and access to pediatric diabetes care: a global descriptive study

A decade since the discovery of insulin, the increasing prevalence of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) has underscored the prevailing inequalities in the provision of essential care for T1DM worldwide. However, the details on the availability of insulin types and associated medical devices remain unclear. A cross-sectional electronic survey was distributed across a global network of pediatric societies under the umbrella of the International Pediatric Association (IPA). Access to and availability of pediatric diabetes care were investigated using standardized questions. Responses from 25 of 132 pediatric societies across six regions were included. Pediatric endocrinologists typically manage T1DM together with pediatricians or adult endocrinologists. Nonetheless, 24% of the respondents reported pediatricians to be the sole healthcare professionals. According to the respondents, the patients were either partially or completely responsible for payments of insulin (40%), A1C (24%), C-peptide (28%), and antibody testing for diagnosis (28%). Government support is generally available for insulin, but this was merely 20% for insulin pumps and 12% for continuous glucose monitors. There are considerable disparities in the access, availability, and affordability of diabetes testing, medications, and support between countries with significant out-of-pocket payments for care. Country- and region-specific improvements to national programs are necessary to achieve optimal pediatric diabetes care globally.