HealthDay News — Compared to whites, blacks and Hispanics have increased markers of poor prognosis of type 1 diabetes at diagnosis and 3 years afterward, according to a study published online in Diabetes Care.
Maria Jose Redondo, MD, PhD, MPH, from the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, and colleagues assessed racial and ethnic differences in outcomes among patients in the first 3 years following diagnosis of type 1 diabetes. Data included 927 Pediatric Diabetes Consortium participants (<19 years old; 631 non-Hispanic white [NHW], 216 Hispanic, and 80 African-American [AA]).
The researchers found that, compared with NHW, at diagnosis, AA participants had higher age- and sex-adjusted body mass index (BMI), more advanced pubertal development, and higher frequency of presentation in diabetic ketoacidosis.
Socioeconomic factors largely explained these factors. Additionally, during the first 3 years after diagnosis, AA participants were more likely to have hypertension and severe hypoglycemia events, and had trends towards higher hemoglobin A1c, BMI percentile, insulin doses, and insulin dose-adjusted hemoglobin A1c. They were also less likely to enter partial remission period.
Compared with NHWs, Hispanics had higher BMI percentile at diagnosis and over the 3-year study period. Hispanics also had higher prevalence of dyslipidemia and trajectories of higher insulin doses and insulin dose-adjusted hemoglobin A1c over the 3 years.
“Youth of minority race/ethnicity have increased markers of poor prognosis of type 1 diabetes at diagnosis and three years post-diagnosis, possibly contributing to higher risk of long-term diabetes complications compared with NHWs,” the authors write.
Several authors disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.
Reference
Redondo MJ, Libman I, Cheng P, et al. Racial/ethic minority youth with recent-onset type 1 diabetes have poor prognostic factors [published online March 1, 2018]. Diabetes Care. doi: 10.2337/dc17-2335