Renal Wastage of Insulin in Children with Diabetes Mellitus

In normal human beings the percentage of serum insulin excreted in the urine is constant over a wide range of values. The quantity of immunoreactive insulin found in the urine is believed to reflect the level of free insulin in the serum. Immunoreactive insulin was measured in the urine of nondiabetic children and diabetic children receiving exogenous insulin. Children with diabetes mellitus excreted greater amounts of immunoreactive insulin (18.5±8 μU./mg. creatinine) than did nondiabetic children (11.9±5 μU./mg. creatinine). This difference was statistically significant (p < 0.0005). Children with “poor glycemic control” excreted a greater portion of their administered insulin dose than did those with “good control.” The renal wastage of insulin correlated (r=0.94) with the duration of insulin treatment but not with the quantity administered. Antibody binding of serum insulin may explain in part these observations, but an acquired defect in the renal tubular reabsorption of insulin may also exist. Modifications in the management of diabetes that reduce the renal wastage of insulin may improve the metabolic stability of children with “poor diabetic control.”