Effects of Anaemia Parameters on Metabolic Control in Children with Type-1 Diabetes Mellitus

Introduction: Anaemia parameters in children with type-1 diabetes and their relationship with metabolic control has received little attention in the literature. We aimed to determine the incidence of anaemia and to investigate anaemia parameters and their relationship with metabolic control in paediatric type-1 diabetes mellitus (DM) patients. Methods: A retrospective case control study was conducted using the medical records of 33 patients with type-1 diabetes and 33 healthy children. In both groups, anaemia parameters including haemogram parameters and iron, total iron-binding capacity (TIBC), ferritin, vitamin B12 and folate were noted. In the case group, HbA1c levels, duration of diabetes and insulin treatment dose were also noted. Results: Mean diabetes duration was 8.4 +/- 11.4 months, mean HbA1c level was 10.6 +/- 2.9 and mean insulin treatment dose was 0.7 +/- 0.2 u/kg/day. Comparison of haemogram parameters between the case and control groups were non-significant. TIBC was lower in the patients than in controls. Folate and ferritin were higher in patients than in controls. Conclusion: According to this study, type-1 DM did not increase the risk for anaemia in children. Ferritin was higher in patients than in controls, which suggests that inflammation was present in the patients with type-1 DM.