Linear Growth in Children and Adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

Elisa Santi, Giorgia Tascini, Giada Toni, Maria Giulia Berioli and Susanna Esposito
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Elisa Santi: Pediatric Clinic, Department of Surgical and Biomedical Sciences, Università degli Studi di Perugia, 06123 Perugia, Italy
Giorgia Tascini: Pediatric Clinic, Department of Surgical and Biomedical Sciences, Università degli Studi di Perugia, 06123 Perugia, Italy
Giada Toni: Pediatric Clinic, Department of Surgical and Biomedical Sciences, Università degli Studi di Perugia, 06123 Perugia, Italy
Maria Giulia Berioli: Pediatric Clinic, Department of Surgical and Biomedical Sciences, Università degli Studi di Perugia, 06123 Perugia, Italy
Susanna Esposito: Pietro Barilla Children’s Hospital, Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, 43126 Parma, Italy

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 19, 1-12

Abstract: Ensuring normal linear growth is one of the major therapeutic aims in the management of type one diabetes mellitus (T1DM) in children and adolescents. Many studies in the literature have shown that pediatric patients with T1DM frequently present some abnormalities in their growth hormone (GH)/insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) axis compared to their healthy peers. Data on the growth of T1DM children and adolescents are still discordant: Some studies have reported that T1DM populations, especially those whose diabetes began in early childhood, are taller than healthy pediatric populations at diagnosis, while other studies have not found any difference. Moreover, many reports have highlighted a growth impairment in T1DM patients of prepubertal and pubertal age, and this impairment seems to be influenced by suboptimal glycemic control and disease duration. However, the most recent data showed that children treated with modern intensive insulin therapies reach a normal final adult height. This narrative review aims to provide current knowledge regarding linear growth in children and adolescents with T1DM. Currently, the choice of the most appropriate therapeutic regimen to achieve a good insulin level and the best metabolic control for each patient, together with the regular measurement of growth parameters, remains the most important available tool for a pediatric diabetologist. Nevertheless, since new technologies are the therapy of choice in young children, especially those of pre-school age, it would be of great interest to evaluate their effects on the growth pattern of children with T1DM.

Keywords: diabetes mellitus; GH; IGF-1; linear growth; type 1 diabetes (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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