ESPE Abstracts (2023) 97 FC5.1

ESPE2023 Free Communications Diabetes and insulin 1 (6 abstracts)

Diabetes mellitus and gender incongruence: Worse metabolic control in type 1 and higher mental health issue rates in type 1 and 2 diabetes – a DPV registry study

Claudia Boettcher 1 , Sascha R. Tittel 2,3 , Felix Reschke 4 , Maria Fritsch 5 , Felix Schreiner 6 , Maike Achenbach 7 , Susanne Thiele-Schmitz 8 , Anton Gillessen 9 , Nicole Nellen-Hellmuth 10 , Sveb Golembowski 11 & Reinhard W. Holl 2,3


1University of Bern Faculty of Medicine, Paediatric Endocrinology and Diabetology, Bern, Switzerland. 2University of Ulm, Institute of Epidemiology and Medical Biometry (ZIBMT), Ulm, Germany. 3German Centre for Diabetes Research (DZD), Munich-Neuherberg, Germany. 4Kinder- und Jugendkrankenhaus Auf der Bult, Diabetes Centre for Children and Adolescents, Hannover, Germany. 5Medical University of Graz, Division of General Paediatrics, Department of Paediatric and Adolescent Medicine, Graz, Austria. 6University of Bonn, Children's Hospital, Paediatric Endocrinology Division, Bonn, Germany. 7Vivantes Klinikum Kaulsdorf, Department of Gastroenterology and Diabetology, Berlin, Germany. 8St. Vincenz Hospital, Department of Paediatric and Adolescent Medicine, Paderborn, Germany. 9Herz-Jesu-Hospital, Department of Internal Medicine, Münster, Germany. 10Leopoldina Clinic Schweinfurt, Centre of Child and Adolescent Medicine, Schweinfurt, Germany. 11Sana Hospital Lichtenberg, Department of Paediatrics, Berlin, Germany


Background: The condition when a person’s gender identity does not match the gender assigned at birth is called gender incongruence (GI). GI numbers increased tremendously over the last decade. Diabetes mellitus – type 1 and type 2 – is a severe and lifelong disease. GI combined with diabetes may potentiate the burden for affected people.

Objective: The study aimed to characterize people with GI and diabetes from an extensive standardized registry, the Prospective Diabetes Follow-up Registry (DPV), and to identify potential metabolic and psychological burdens.

Methods: We compared demographic and clinical registry data of persons with type 1 or type 2 diabetes and GI to those without GI. To ensure similar baseline characteristics, we used propensity score matching with a ratio of 1:9 for people with type 1 and 1:5 with type 2 diabetes. Age, diabetes duration and treatment year served as covariates.

Results: The unmatched study population comprised 157’866 people with type 1 diabetes and 452’643 with type 2 diabetes; sixty-six persons had a documented gender incongruence, 43 with type 1 diabetes and 23 with type 2 diabetes. We matched those with n= 258 type 1 diabetes and n=138 type 2 persons. HbA1c values were higher in persons with type 1 diabetes and GI than without GI (p <0.05) - despite a comparable rate of CGM/FGM devices and insulin pump use - whereas the type 2 group showed no difference. Blood pressure was similar in all groups, as were lipid parameters in the type 1 group, but GI people with type 2 diabetes had lower LDL-cholesterol levels. The depression rate was significantly higher in GI people than in non-GI-people: 23.3% versus 3.9% in type 1 and 39.1% versus 6.5% in type 2 (P<0.0001, respectively). Anxiety was significantly more common in type 1 with GI (P<0.05), as was suicidality in type 2 with GI (P<0.001).

Conclusion: People with GI and type 1 diabetes show worse metabolic control than those without GI. Mental health issues are frequent in all people with diabetes and GI. We think that GI people need screening for distress, special attention, counselling and the best care to shoulder their additional burden.

Volume 97

61st Annual ESPE (ESPE 2023)

The Hague, Netherlands
21 Sep 2023 - 23 Sep 2023

European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology 

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