Diabetic nephropathy and quality of life among youths with long-duration type 1 diabetes: A population-based cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether diabetic nephropathy (DN) is associated with lower quality of life (QOL) in youths with long-duration type 1 diabetes and whether associations differ by diabetes duration. METHODS: Overall, 1,462 youths aged 11 to 17 years with diabetes onset between 0 and 4 years of age and at least 10 years diabetes duration completed questionnaires on QOL between 2009 and 2016. Chronic generic and diabetes-specific QOL (diabetes impact and treatment scale) were assessed with three scales of the DISABKIDS instruments. Information on DN was obtained from the diabetes patient follow-up registry ("Diabetes-Patienten-Verlaufsdokumentation") with DN defined as micro- or macroalbuminuria. Linear regression analyses were used to evaluate the association between QOL and DN. To adjust for potential confounders, we applied inverse probability of treatment weighting for the linear regression. RESULTS: In adjusted analysis, DN was associated with lower QOL in the chronic generic and the two diabetes-specific DISABKIDS scales. Overall, the observed effects were not clinically relevant but increased consistently with longer diabetes duration. Among those with at least 16 years diabetes duration, differences in QOL between patients with vs without DN were clinically relevant on the chronic generic scale (ß = -10.3 [-21.0;0.7]). CONCLUSION: The results suggest that long-term microvascular complications can impair chronic generic QOL already in youths with type 1 diabetes. Differences in QOL between patients with and without DN seem to increase with diabetes duration.

Risk of Microvascular Complications and Macrovascular Risk Factors in Early-Onset Type 1 Diabetes after at Least 10 Years Duration: An Analysis of Three Population-Based Cross-Sectional Surveys in Germany between 2009 and 2016.

AIMS: To estimate the risk of microvascular complications and macrovascular risk factors among persons with early-onset (diagnosed at ages 0 to <5 years) and long-duration type 1 diabetes and determine temporal trends and associations with potential predictors. METHODS: We conducted three population-based cross-sectional surveys in Germany (N = 1789) to obtain information on exposures and five outcomes (retinopathy, nephropathy, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and a composite endpoint combining all four outcomes). For each outcome, log-binomial spline regression was applied to estimate the risk and dose-response relationship with diabetes duration and exposures. RESULTS: The risk for microvascular complications increased after 14 years since diabetes diagnosis whereas dyslipidemia and hypertension were already prevalent at 10 years. The 15-year risk (95% confidence interval) of the composite endpoint for female and male patients was 22.9% (18.8%-27.9%) and 19.2% (15.5%-23.8%), respectively. Temporal trends suggested a decreasing risk between 2009 and 2016. Glycemic control, lifestyle-related factors, and SES, but not health care-related factors, were associated with the risk of the composite endpoint. CONCLUSIONS: In early-onset type 1 diabetes, there exists a considerable risk of complications and comorbidities already in young ages. Future research should focus on prevention of diabetic complications in young patients and clarification of pathways of the associations found.

Severe hypoglycemia and diabetic ketoacidosis in young persons with preschool onset of type 1 diabetes mellitus: An analysis of three nationwide population-based surveys.

OBJECTIVES: To describe incidence rates and temporal trends of severe hypoglycemia (SH) and of hospitalizations for SH or diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) in persons with early-onset, long-term type 1 diabetes (T1D) and associations of these short-term complications with potential risk factors. METHODS: This study includes data of 1,875 persons 11.2 to 21.9 years of age with early-onset (<5 years) and long-term (>10 years) T1D from 3 cross-sectional nationwide, population-based surveys conducted in 2009/2010, 2012/2013 and 2015/2016 using standardized questionnaires. Negative binomial regression was used to estimate incidence rates per 100 person-years (py), temporal trends and associations between potential risk factors and outcomes. RESULTS: The crude incidence rate of SH showed a decreasing trend over time (P for trend = .004), disappearing after adjustment for confounders (P for trend = .341). In contrast, adjusted rates of SH- and DKA-associated hospitalizations did not change significantly between 2009 and 2016 (P for trend = .306 and .774, respectively). Associations between sex, diabetes duration, insulin treatment regimen, hypoglycemia awareness as well as physical activity and SH were found, while family structure was associated with hospitalizations for SH. Family structure, socioeconomic status (SES), diabetes duration, and hemoglobin A1c values showed associations with DKA-related hospitalizations. CONCLUSIONS: After adjustment, rates of SH and SH- or DKA-associated hospitalization showed no significant changes in recent years. Structured education programs focusing on high-risk groups as, for example, persons with T1D living with 1 biological parent and the parents' partner or those with a low SES, should be implemented to reduce incidence rates of hospitalizations.

Impact of quality of life (QoL) on glycemic control (HbA1c) among adolescents and emerging adults with long-duration type 1 diabetes: A prospective cohort-study.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of self-reported chronic-generic and condition-specific quality of life (QoL) on glycemic control among adolescents and emerging adults with long-duration type 1 diabetes (T1D) in a longitudinal design. METHODS: The database used was a nationwide cohort study of patients with ≥10 years T1D duration at baseline in Germany. The baseline questionnaire survey was conducted in 2009-2010, the follow-up survey in 2012-2013; additional clinical data of routine care procedures were linked. QoL was assessed by the DISABKIDS chronic generic module (DCGM-12) and diabetes module (DM) with treatment and impact scales. Regression analyses were conducted for the outcome hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) at follow up with baseline DISABKIDS scores as predictors and sociodemographic and health-related covariates. RESULTS: At baseline, the included 560 patients had a mean age of 15.9 (SD 2.3) years, a diabetes duration of 13.0 (2.0) years, and an HbA1c of 67 (14.2) mmol/mol. Mean follow-up time was 3.0 (0.6) years. Univariate analyses indicated associations between baseline QoL scores and HbA1c at follow-up (ß[DCGM-12] = -0.174 (SE 0.038), ß[DM treatment] = -0.100 (0.022), ß[DM impact] = -0.177 (0.030), p < .001). The associations remained significant after adjustment for sociodemographic and illness-related factors, but dissolved (p > .60) when additionally adjusting for baseline HbA1c. In patients with poor baseline HbA1c (>75 mmol/mol), significant associations were observed between DCGM-12 and DM impact scores and follow-up HbA1c (ß[DCGM-12] = -0.144 (0.062), p = .021; ß[DM impact] = -0.139 (0.048), p = .004). CONCLUSIONS: QoL was inversely associated with HbA1c after 3 years in the course of T1D only in patients poorly controlled at baseline.