Diabetes Complications and Glycemk Control: The Pittsburgh Prospective Insulin-Dependent Diabetes Cohort Study Status Report After 5 yr of IDDM

The relationship between glycemic control and complications of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) remains controversial. With the use of glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA,) to assess glycemic control from diagnosis onward, the Pittsburgh Prospective Insulin-Dependent Diabetes Mellitus Cohort Study prospectively evaluated 80 new cases of IDDM diagnosed at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. This study presents findings in 62 patients at 5 yr postdiagnosis. Only 7 patients, all girls, had any retinopathy (microaneurysms). These subjects had an elevated 5-yr mean HbA₁ compared to those with no retinopathy (13.0 vs. 11.7%; P < .05). Six female subjects who had an elevated albumin excretion rate (AER; >20 μg/min) had a higher 5-yr mean HbA, (13.3%) than the 26 subjects with AER <20 |xg/min (11.8%; P < .05). Current HbA₁ was correlated with AER (r = +.36, P < .05) and systolic blood pressure (r = +.49, P < .01) in females. However, these associations were not observed in males. Positive correlations were found between HbA₁ (5-yr mean and current) and serum triglyceride and cholesterol, but only in females was HbA₁ inversely related to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. However, HbA₁ was independent of sex, HLA-DR type, and urine C-peptide status. Age adjustment did not change the above results. These analyses suggest that glycemic control is related to AER, systolic blood pressure, presence of microaneurysms, and serum triglyceride and cholesterol concentrations during the first 5 yr of IDDM. However, these associations appear to be predominant in girls.