ESPE Abstracts

Introduction: Lipodystrophy is the most common dermatological complication in patients with diabetes receiving insulin therapy. Despite the high incidence of lipodystrophy, there are still some difficulties in the practical implementation of prevention recommendations in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes and their caregivers. This cross-sectional study aims to assess the prevalence of insulin-induced lipodystrophy in a cohort of pediatric patients with type 1 diabetes seen and hospitalized for the first time in our department, to identify the associated clinical factors, and to evaluate its impact on glycemic control.

Patients and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, data from five hundred and seventy-nine patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus seen for the first time in the Department of Endocrinology, Diabetology and Nutrition were analyzed. The presence of lipodystrophy was determined by inspection and palpation. The data were taken from the medical records.The analysis was performed using SPSS version 21 software, and a threshold of P <0.05 was considered significant.

Results: The prevalence of lipohypertrophy was 35.6 %. Improper rotation of insulin delivery sites and low awareness of lipodystrophy were found in 56% and 44% of cases, respectively. When comparing patients with and without lipodystrophy, the mean glycosylated hemoglobin level of patients with lipodystrophy was 10% +/- 2.7 and that of type 1 diabetic patients without lipodystrophy was 8% +/-1.06. Lipodystrophy remains a common complication in patients on insulin therapy. In the present study, its negative impact on glycemic variability was found to be statically significant (P = 0.03).

Discussion-Conclusion: This finding highlights the importance of prevention strategies to minimize the occurrence of this dermatological complication, which can affect the clinical course of the disease