Association of serum sialic acid with cardiovascular metabolic risk factors in Kuwaiti children and adolescents with type I diabetes

The aim of the present study was to investigate the relation of serum total sialic acid (TSA) concentrations with cardiovascular metabolic risk factors in Kuwaiti children and adolescents with uncomplicated type 1 diabetes. This case-control study included 150 (57 males and 93 females) type 1 diabetic children aged 6 to 18 years matched by age and sex to 150 nondiabetic children as controls. Measured variables included weight, height, systolic, diastolic blood pressure, and biochemical variables: blood glucose, glycated hemoglobin (HbA(1C)), triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL), apolipoproteins (apo) A1 and B, and urine microalbumin. There was no significant difference between mean serum TSA of the type 1 diabetic children (671.0 mg/L) and their controls (663.7 mg/L). In diabetic children, mean serum TSA was significantly higher in females (699.1 mg/L) than in males (625.2 mg/L) (P = .003). Significant correlations were found between serum TSA and the cardiovascular risk factors TC (P = .002), TG (P < .001), and apo B (P = .008). TSA mean level was significantly higher in diabetic children with poor glycemic control (HbA(1c) > 9.0%; P = .015), raised TC (P = .013), raised TG (P = .014), and in children with family history of cardiovascular disease (CVD; P = .02). In conclusion, the study suggests that serum TSA levels were not elevated in young type 1 diabetic children as compared with controls. The study also confirmed significant correlation of TSA concentrations with CVD risk factors TC, TG, and apo B, and as such serum TSA may be considered as a marker for CVD risk, especially in diabetic patients. A long-term prospective study is recommended to ascertain the longitudinal relationship of serum TSA with the adverse metabolic changes in type 1 diabetic children as complications prevail. (C) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.