Children diagnosed with presymptomatic type 1 diabetes through public health screening have milder diabetes at clinical manifestation.

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: We aimed to determine whether disease severity was reduced at onset of clinical (stage 3) type 1 diabetes in children previously diagnosed with presymptomatic type 1 diabetes in a population-based screening programme for islet autoantibodies. METHODS: Clinical data obtained at diagnosis of stage 3 type 1 diabetes were evaluated in 128 children previously diagnosed with presymptomatic early-stage type 1 diabetes between 2015 and 2022 in the Fr1da study and compared with data from 736 children diagnosed with incident type 1 diabetes between 2009 and 2018 at a similar age in the DiMelli study without prior screening. RESULTS: At the diagnosis of stage 3 type 1 diabetes, children with a prior early-stage diagnosis had lower median HbA1c (51 mmol/mol vs 91 mmol/mol [6.8% vs 10.5%], p<0.001), lower median fasting glucose (5.3 mmol/l vs 7.2 mmol/l, p<0.05) and higher median fasting C-peptide (0.21 nmol/l vs 0.10 nmol/l, p<0.001) compared with children without previous early-stage diagnosis. Fewer participants with prior early-stage diagnosis had ketonuria (22.2% vs 78.4%, p<0.001) or required insulin treatment (72.3% vs 98.1%, p<0.05) and only 2.5% presented with diabetic ketoacidosis at diagnosis of stage 3 type 1 diabetes. Outcomes in children with a prior early-stage diagnosis were not associated with a family history of type 1 diabetes or diagnosis during the COVID-19 pandemic. A milder clinical presentation was observed in children who participated in education and monitoring after early-stage diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: Diagnosis of presymptomatic type 1 diabetes in children followed by education and monitoring improved clinical presentation at the onset of stage 3 type 1 diabetes.

Diabetes and gender incongruence: frequent mental health issues but comparable metabolic control - a DPV registry study.

Context: The condition when a person's gender identity does not match the sex assigned at birth is called gender incongruence (GI). Numbers of GI people seeking medical care increased tremendously over the last decade. Diabetes mellitus is a severe and lifelong disease. GI combined with diabetes may potentiate into a burdensome package for affected people. Objective: The study aimed to characterize people with GI and diabetes from an extensive standardized registry, the Prospective Diabetes Follow-up Registry (DPV), and to identify potential metabolic and psychological burdens. Methods: We compared demographic and clinical registry data of persons with type 1 or type 2 diabetes and GI to those without GI and used propensity score matching (1:4) with age, diabetes duration and treatment year as covariates. Results: 75 persons with GI, 49 with type 1 and 26 with type 2 diabetes were identified. HbA1c values were similar in matched persons with type 1 or 2 diabetes and GI compared to those without GI. Lipid profiles showed no difference, neither in type 1 nor in type 2 diabetes. Diastolic blood pressure was higher in the type 1 and GI group than in those without, whereas systolic blood pressure showed comparable results in all groups. Depression and anxiety were significantly higher in GI people (type 1 and 2). Non-suicidal self-injurious behaviour was more common in type 1 and GI, as was suicidality in type 2 with GI. Conclusion: Mental health issues are frequent in people with diabetes and GI and need to be specially addressed in this population.

Understanding Daily, Emotional, and Physical Burdens and Needs of Parents Caring for Children with Type 1 Diabetes.

Aims: To investigate (1) daily, emotional, and physical caregiving burdens in parents of children with type 1 diabetes, (2) the sociodemographic and clinical predictors of three burdens, and (3) support measures that parents wish to receive. Methods: The study was a multicenter cross-sectional survey conducted in nine German pediatric diabetes centers. A questionnaire assessing three types of burdens and wishes for support was distributed to parents with a child with type 1 diabetes visiting one of the pediatric centers for a routine check-up. Results: Data from 1,107 parents (83% mothers) were analyzed. Parents reported significantly higher emotional burdens compared to daily and physical burdens (p < 0.0001). Mothers felt more burdened than fathers did. Parents of younger children reported higher daily and physical burdens compared to the parents of older children, and similarly, parents of technology users reported higher daily and physical burdens compared to the parents of nontechnology users. However, emotional burdens did not differ in both comparisons. Other demographic factors (i.e., parent's age, migration status, and single-parent family status) predicted high levels of daily or physical burdens, but only HbA1c level and the parent's gender (mother) predicted a high emotional burden. Independent of the level of burden, 78% of parents wanted additional diabetes training. Conclusion: Despite parents reporting high emotional burdens in connection with diabetes care, HbA1c and the gender of the reporting parent were the only risk factors. As the child gets older, parents' daily and physical distress decrease but not the emotional burden. Diabetes training including regularly offered booster sessions as well as low-threshold interventions for mental health issues and practical self-care skills is recommended to provide continuous support for parents.

Glycated hemoglobin at diagnosis of type 1 diabetes and at follow-up in children and adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany.

BACKGROUND: This study investigated the diagnostic delay and the subsequent quality of care during the Covid-19 pandemic among children with new-onset type 1 diabetes. METHODS: We compared the HbA1c levels of 3111 children at diagnosis of type 1 diabetes and of 2825 children at a median follow-up of 4.7 months (interquartile range, 4.1-5.4) together with their daily insulin requirement during the Covid-19 pandemic with the two previous years via multivariable linear regression, using data from the German Diabetes Registry DPV. RESULTS: During the Covid-19 pandemic, HbA1c levels were higher at diagnosis of type 1 diabetes (mean estimated difference, 0.33% [95% confidence interval, 0.23-0.43], p < 0.001), but not at follow-up (mean estimated difference, 0.02% [-0.02-0.07]). Children with diabetes onset during the Covid-19 pandemic had a significantly higher daily insulin requirement after initiation of therapy (mean estimated difference, 0.08 U/kg [0.06-0.10], p < 0.001). Both the increase in HbA1c and daily insulin requirement were evident only after the first wave of the pandemic. CONCLUSIONS: This increase in HbA1c at diagnosis of type 1 diabetes during the Covid-19 pandemic may indicate a delay in seeking medical care due to the pandemic. However, this did not affect short-term glycemic control. The increased insulin requirement at follow-up could suggest a more rapid autoimmune progression during the pandemic.

Long-term Occupational Consequences for Families of Children With Type 1 Diabetes: The Mothers Take the Burden.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the occupational and financial consequences for parents following the onset of type 1 diabetes in their child. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: A questionnaire assessing occupational and financial situations before and in the first year after the onset of diabetes was distributed to all families with a child ≤14 years of age at diagnosis with a diabetes duration of at least 12 months in nine German pediatric diabetes centers. RESULTS: Data of 1,144 children (mean age at diagnosis 6.7 [3.6] years; 46.5% female) and their families were obtained. Mothers' occupational status reflected in paid working hours was significantly reduced in the first year after their child's diabetes diagnosis (P < 0.001). Overall, 15.1% of mothers stopped working, and 11.5% reduced working hours. Mothers of preschool children were particularly affected. Fathers' working status hardly changed (P = 0.75). Nearly half of the families (46.4%) reported moderate to severe financial losses. Compared with an earlier similar study in 2003, significant negative occupational consequences for mothers and financial burden on families remained unchanged in 2018 (P = 0.59 and 0.31, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Mothers of young children with newly diagnosed diabetes experienced negative consequences in their occupational situation. This inequality for mothers can have long-term negative consequences for their mental health and future economic situation. There is an urgent need for action to reduce the burden on families and to provide professional, social, and regulatory support, especially for mothers of young children with diabetes.

Recruiting young pre-symptomatic children for a clinical trial in type 1 diabetes: Insights from the Fr1da insulin intervention study.

BACKGROUND: Although detection of children at high risk of developing type 1 diabetes and diagnosis of early stages is possible, up to now there exists no approved therapy to delay or prevent type 1 diabetes. Thus it is vital to develop evidence-based interventions. For this a sufficient number of trial participants is crucial but difficult to obtain especially in asymptomatic children. AIM: Identifying family characteristics that lead to or impede trial participation and analyze reasons stated by families for non-participation. METHODS: Participants for the Fr1da Insulin Intervention study are recruited from the Fr1da study, a population based screening for early stage type 1 diabetes in Bavaria. Families with eligible children were invited to enroll. We analyzed sex and age of the child, distance of the family to the study center in Munich and the existence of a first degree family member with type 1 as possible influential factors for study participation. We also analyzed reasons stated by families who declined study participation in a phone interview. RESULTS: Of 146 eligible children 77 (53%) were enrolled into the trial. None of the tested family characteristics differed significantly between the enrolling and the families not participating, but in general enrolling families lived closer to the study site than families not participating. This is also reflected in the reasons given by non-participating families. The most frequent reason stated were time restrictions. The second most frequent reason was the venous blood draw. CONCLUSION: The factors for non-participation identified in this project need be taken into account for the design of future trials in young children to ensure proper recruitment and thus to generate valid results for medical treatment of children. More research on the reason of participation and non-participation in clinical trials is needed.

Fasting hypoglycemia is associated with disease progression in presymptomatic early stage type 1 diabetes.

OBJECTIVE: In children with presymptomatic type 1 diabetes, intermittent hyperglycemia and rising hemoglobin A1c levels are a known signal of progression toward insulin-dependency. Episodes of hypoglycemia, however, have also been reported in one published case. We investigated the prevalence of hypoglycemia and its association with disease progression in children with presymptomatic type 1 diabetes. METHODS: We compared the frequency of hypoglycemic fasting blood glucose levels (<60 mg/dL) in 48 autoantibody negative and 167 multiple ß-cell autoantibody positive children aged 2 to 5 years. We classified the autoantibody positive children into three categories based on their glucose levels in fasting state (hypoglycemic [<60 mg/dL], normoglycemic [60-99 mg/dL] or hyperglycemic [≥100 mg/dL]). We then compared the glucose levels under challenge during oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTTs) between the three categories. RESULTS: In the autoantibody positive children, 5.1% of the fasting samples were hypoglycemic, while in the autoantibody negative children no hypoglycemia was observed. Hypoglycemia occurred more often in autoantibody positive children who had already entered stage 2 or stage 3 of type 1 diabetes than in stage 1 patients (P = 0.02). Children who had hypoglycemic compared to normoglycemic fasting blood glucose values had higher 120-minute blood glucose values under OGTT challenge, and a higher rate of pathological OGTTs (P = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS: Fasting hypoglycemia seems to be an indicator of disease progression in presymptomatic type 1 diabetes and may therefore represent a novel marker for the identification of children who should be monitored more closely for progression toward insulin-dependent type 1 diabetes.

Clinical characteristics and outcome of 467 patients with a clinically recognized eating disorder identified among 52,215 patients with type 1 diabetes: a multicenter german/austrian study.

OBJECTIVE: To compare clinical characteristics and outcome of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) between patients with and without a clinically recognized eating disorder (ED). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: A total of 52,215 T1DM patients aged 8 to <30 years from the prospective diabetes data acquisition system DPV were analyzed. A total of 467 patients had an additional diagnosis of ED according to DSM-IV criteria (anorexia nervosa [AN], n = 141 [female: 94.3%]; bulimia nervosa [BN], n = 62 [90.3%]; and EDs not otherwise specified, including binge-eating disorder [EDNOS], n = 264 [74.2%]). Groups were compared using multivariable regression. Cox proportional hazard ratios were calculated for the association between ED and retinopathy. RESULTS: After adjustment for age, sex, and duration of diabetes, patients with ED revealed higher HbA1c (no ED vs. AN, BN, or EDNOS, respectively: 8.29 ± 0.01% [67.1 ± 0.1 mmol/mol] vs. 8.61 ± 0.15% [70.6 ± 1.6 mmol/mol], 9.11 ± 0.23% [76.1 ± 2.5 mmol/mol], or 9.00 ± 0.11% [74.9 ± 1.2 mmol/mol]) and a higher rate of pathological insulin injection sites (48.4 vs. 64.3, 64.1, or 62.1%). Furthermore, ketoacidosis (5.7 ± 0.1 vs. 12.1 ± 2.1, 18.0 ± 4.1, or 12.9 ± 1.6 events per 100 person-years) and hospitalization (54.9 ± 0.3 vs. 89.3 ± 6.0, 132.0 ± 12.7, or 91.0 ± 4.4 per 100 person-years) were more common, and duration of hospital stay was longer (4.81 ± 0.01 vs. 11.31 ± 0.21, 18.05 ± 0.48, or 8.44 ± 0.13 days per year). All P values were <0.05. Patients with BN and EDNOS had a 2.5-fold (95% CI 1.3-4.8) and a 1.4-fold (0.8-2.3) higher risk for retinopathy, whereas AN patients had no increased risk (0.9 [95% CI 0.4-2.3]). CONCLUSIONS: Diabetes health care professionals should be aware of comorbid EDs in pediatric/young-adult T1DM patients. An ED diagnosis is associated with worse metabolic control and higher rates of diabetes complications.