ESPE Abstracts (2014) 82 P-D-1-3-84

aDepartment of Pediatrics, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria; bInstitute for Medical Informatics, Statistics and Documentation, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria; cDepartment of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria


Background: The aim of this study was to examine plasma visfatin levels in pediatric patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D). Visfatin, a novel adipokine, is predominantly secreted by visceral adipose tissue and seems to have insulin-mimetic effects. It has not been studied in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes (T1D) yet.

Objectives: We studied 124 subjects; 62 patients with T1D: 31 girls, mean age 13.7±3.7 years; mean duration of diabetes 5.9±3.5 years; mean insulin dosage 0.9±0.3 U/kg per day; mean BMI 20.2±3.2 kg/m2 and 62 age-matched healthy controls (HC): 32 girls, mean age 13.5±3.7 years; mean BMI 20.6±4.6 kg/m2.

Results: The mean plasma level of visfatin was 17.5 ng/ml (range 10.6–104.5 ng/ml) in the T1D-group and 12.5 ng/ml (range 4.6–68.6 ng/ml) in the HC-group. An unadjusted comparison between the T1D-group and the HC-group showed a significant difference between visfatin levels (P<0.001). After adjustment for gender, BMI and pubertal status, the adjusted mean visfatin level remained significantly higher in the T1D-group (19.2 vs 11.9 ng/ml, P<0.001). There was no significant correlation between visfatin levels and BMI, HbA1c, duration of diabetes, fasting blood glucose, pubertal status, total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, but we found a correlation between HDL cholesterol and visfatin levels (r=0.39, P=0.002), (adjusted: P=0.38, P=0.003).

Conclusion: Children and adolescents with T1D have higher plasma visfatin levels compared to HC, suggesting an influence on glucose metabolism in insulin-deficient patients, independent of BMI. Furthermore, we could find a correlation between visfatin and HDL in pediatric T1D.

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