AlC in children and adolescents with diabetes in relation to certain clinical parameters - The Swedish Childhood Diabetes Registry SWEDIABKIDS

OBJECTIVE - We explored the relationship between AlC and insulin regimen, duration of diabetes, age, sex, and BMI as well as the differences between clinical mean AlC levels at pediatric diabetes clinics in Sweden. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS - Data from 18,651 clinical outpatient visits (1,033 girls and 1,147 boys) at 20 pediatric clinics during 2001 and 2002 registered in the Swedish Childhood Diabetes Registry SWEDIABKIDS, a national quality registry, were analyzed. RESULTS - AlC was < 7.0% (target value similar to 8% per Diabetes Control and Complications Trial/National Glycohemoglobin Standardization Program standards) at 35% of the visits. Girls had significantly higher mean AlC than boys during adolescence. High mean AlC was correlated with high mean insulin dose, long duration of diabetes, and older age. Mean AlC varied between clinics (6.8-8.2%). Differences between centers could not be explained by differences in diabetes duration, age, BMI, or insulin dose. CONCLUSIONS - Adolescents with a high insulin dose and a long duration of diabetes, especially girls, need to be focused on, Differences in mean values between centers remained inexplicable and require further investigation.