Blood pressure in adolescents and young adults with type 1 diabetes: data from the Australasian Diabetes Data Network registry.

AIM: Hypertension increases complication risk in type 1 diabetes (T1D). We examined blood pressure (BP) in adolescents and young adults with T1D from the Australasian Diabetes Data Network, a prospective clinical diabetes registry in Australia and New Zealand. METHODS: This was a longitudinal study of prospectively collected registry data. INCLUSION CRITERIA: T1D (duration ≥ 1 year) and age 16-25 years at last visit (2011-2020). Hypertension was defined as (on ≥ 3 occasions) systolic BP and/or diastolic BP > 95th percentile for age  130 and/or diastolic BP > 80 mmHg for age ≥ 18 years. Multivariable Generalised Estimating Equations were used to examine demographic and clinical factors associated with BP in the hypertensive range across all visits. RESULTS: Data from 6338 young people (male 52.6%) attending 24 participating centres across 36,655 T1D healthcare visits were included; 2812 (44.4%) had BP recorded at last visit. Across all visits, 19.4% of youth aged < 18 years and 21.7% of those aged ≥ 18 years met criteria for hypertension. In both age groups, BP in the hypertensive range was associated with male sex, injection (vs. pump) therapy, higher HbA1c, and higher body mass index. CONCLUSIONS: There is a high proportion of adolescents and young adults reported with BP persistently in hypertensive ranges. Findings flag the additive contribution of hypertension to the well-established body of evidence indicating a need to review healthcare models for adolescents and young adults with T1D

Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in adolescents and young adults with type 1 diabetes: Data from the Australasian Diabetes Data Network registry.

AIM: To determine low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) screening frequency and levels, and factors associated with elevated LDL-C, in Australasian youth with type 1 diabetes (T1D). METHODS: Data were extracted from the Australasian Diabetes Data Network (ADDN), a prospective clinical quality registry, on all T1D healthcare visits attended by young people aged 16-25 years (with T1D duration of >1 year) between January 2011 and December 2020. The primary outcomes were elevated LDL-C > 2.6 mmol/L (100 mg/dL) and threshold for treatment: >3.4 mmol/L (130 mg/dL), according to consensus guidelines. Multivariable Generalised Estimated Equations (GEE) were used to examine factors associated with elevated LDL-C across all visits. RESULTS: A cohort of 6338 young people (52.6% men) were identified, of whom 1603 (25.3%) had ≥1 LDL-C measurement documented. At last measurement, mean age, age at T1D diagnosis and T1D duration were 18.3 ± 2.4, 8.8 ± 4.5 and 8.9 ± 4.8 years, respectively. LDL-C was elevated in 737 (46.0%) and at the treatment threshold in 250 (15.6%). In multivariable GEE elevated LDL-C continuously was associated with older age (OR = 0.07; 0.01-0.13, p = 0.02), female sex (OR = 0.31; 0.18-0.43; p < 0.001), higher HbA1c (OR = 0.04; 0.01-0.08; p = 0.01) and having an elevated BMI (OR = 0.17, 0.06-0.39, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: LDL-C screening and levels are suboptimal in this cohort, increasing future cardiovascular complication risk. There is an urgent need to understand how healthcare services can support improved screening and management of dyslipidaemia in this population

Correlation between centre size, metabolic variation and mean HbA1c in major paediatric diabetes centres.

AIM: To exploit a relatively homogeneous national health care context and a national diabetes database to address the questions: Is there an optimal clinic/centre size in determining outcomes?; and Can improvement in median centre outcomes be driven by reducing variability in outcome? METHODS: Using the Australasian Diabetes Database Network, data from seven tertiary hospital paediatric diabetes clinics for patients with type one diabetes from Australia were recorded from 6-month uploads: September 2017, March 2018, September 2018 and March 2019. Data from 25 244 patient visits included demographic variables, HbA1C, number of patient visits and insulin regimens. RESULTS: There was no association between centre size and median HbA1C. On the other hand, there was a significant association between or median absolute deviation of HbA1C outcomes and the median HbA1C result between centres. On average every two thirds of a median absolute deviation increase in clinic HbA1C was associated with a 1.0% (10.9 mmol/mol) increase in median clinic HbA1C. CONCLUSIONS: Our data have shown that it is likely difficult for centres to have a low median HbA1C if there is high variance of HbA1C's within centres or within centre treatment groups. This appears to be true regardless of centre size. These findings need to be carefully considered by teams who wish to lower their clinic median HbA1C

Five heterogeneous HbA1c trajectories from childhood to adulthood in youth with type 1 diabetes from three different continents: a group-based modeling approach

OBJECTIVES:Only a fraction of youth meet established targets for glycemic control; many experience deteriorating control over time. We compared trajectories of hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) among youth from three trans-continental type 1 diabetes (T1D) registries and identified clinical variables associated with the odds of following increasing vs stable trajectories. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS:Analyses included longitudinal data from 15 897 individuals age 8 to 18 with T1D for at least 2 years and HbA1c measurements in at least 5 years during the observation period. Cohorts were selected from Australasian Diabetes Data Network (ADDN; Australia), German/Austrian/Luxembourgian Diabetes-Patienten-Verlaufsdokumentation initiative (DPV; Germany/Austria/Luxembourga), and the T1D Exchange Clinic Network (T1DX; US) clinic registries. Group-based trajectory modeling and multivariable logistic regression identified unique HbA1c trajectories and their predictors. RESULTS:Five heterogeneous trajectories of glycemic control in each registry were identified: low, intermediate, high stable; intermediate and high increasing. The overall HbA1c level for each trajectory group tended to be lowest in the DPV, higher in the ADDN, and highest in the T1DX. The absolute level of HbA1c and the proportion of individuals within each trajectory varied across registries: 17% to 22% of individuals followed an increasing trajectory. Compared with maintaining a stable trajectory, following an increasing trajectory was significantly associated with ethnic minority status, lower height z-score, higher BMI z-score, insulin injection therapy, and the occurrence of severe hypoglycemia; however, these factors were not consistent across the three registries. CONCLUSIONS:We report the first multinational registry-based comparison of glycemic control trajectories among youth with T1D from three continents and identify possible targets for intervention in those at risk of an increasing HbA1c trajectory.Mark A. Clements, Anke Schwandt, Kim C. Donaghue, Kellee Miller, Ursula Lück, Jennifer J. Couper ... et al

Longitudinal trajectories of BMI z-score: an international comparison of 11,513 Australian, American and German/Austrian/Luxembourgian youth with type 1 diabetes

BACKGROUND:BMI fluctuations during puberty are common. Data on individual change in BMI from childhood to young adulthood are limited in youth with type 1 diabetes. OBJECTIVES:To compare longitudinal trajectories of body mass index z score (BMIz) from childhood to adolescence across three registries spanning five countries. METHODS:Data sources: T1DX (USA), DPV (Germany/Austria/Luxembourg) and ADDN (Australia). The analysis included 11,513 youth with type 1 diabetes, duration >1 year, at least one BMI measure at baseline (age 8-10 years) and >5 aggregated BMI measures by year of age during follow-up until age 17 years. BMIz was calculated based on WHO charts. Latent class growth modelling was used to identify subgroups following a similar trajectory of BMIz over time. RESULTS:Five distinct trajectories of BMIz were present in the T1DX and ADDN cohorts, while six trajectories were identified in the DPV cohort. Boys followed more often a low/near-normal pattern while elevated BMIz curves were more likely in girls (ADDN; DPV). For T1DX cohort, no sex differences were observed. Comparing the reference group (BMIz ~0) with the other groups during puberty, higher BMIz was significantly associated with older age at T1D onset, racial/ethnic minority and elevated HbA1c (all p<0.05). CONCLUSION:This multinational study presents unique BMIz trajectories in youth with T1D across three continents. The prevalence of overweight and the longitudinal persistence of overweight support the need for close monitoring of weight and nutrition in this population. The international and individual differences likely result from diverse genetic, environmental and therapeutic factors.Helen Phelan, Nicole C. Foster, Anke Schwandt, Jennifer J. Couper, Steven Willi, Peter Kroschwald ... et al

Suboptimal glycemic control in adolescents and young adults with type 1 diabetes from 2011 to 2020 across Australia and New Zealand : data from the Australasian Diabetes Data Network registry

Background: Competing challenges in adolescence and young adulthood can distract from optimal type 1 diabetes (T1D) self-management, and increase risks of premature morbidity and mortality. There are limited data mapping the glycemic control of people with T1D in this age group, across Australasia. Research Design and Methods: Clinical data were extracted from the Australasian Diabetes Data Network, a prospective clinical diabetes registry. Inclusion criteria were individuals with T1D aged 16–25 years at their last recorded T1D healthcare visit (from 1st January 2011 to 31st December 2020), with T1D duration of at least 1 year. Data were stratified by two last recorded T1D healthcare visit ranges, while generalized estimated equation (GEE) modeling was used to examine factors associated with HbA1c across visits during the 10 year period. Results: Data from 6329 young people (52.6% male) attending 24 diabetes centers across Australasia were included. At the last visit within the most recent 5 years, mean ± SD age was 18.5 ± 2.3 years, T1D duration was 8.8 ± 4.7 years and HbA1c was 8.8 ± 1.8% (72.2 ± 19.9 mmol/mol); only 12.3% had an HbA1c below the international target of <7.0% (53 mmol/mol). Across all T1D healthcare visits, in GEE modeling, higher HbA1c was associated with female sex (B = 0.20; 95% CI 0.12 to 0.29, p < 0.001), longer T1D duration (B = 0.04, 0.03 to 0.05, p < 0.001). Lower HbA1c was associated with attendance at a pediatric T1D healthcare setting (B = −0.33, −0.45 to −0.21, p < 0.001) and use of CSII versus BD/MDI therapy (B = −0.49, −0.59 to 0.40, p < 0.001). Conclusions: This Australasian study demonstrates widespread and persistent sub-optimal glycemic control in young people with T1D, highlighting the urgent need to better understand how healthcare services can support improved glycemic control in this population

Blood pressure in adolescents and young adults with type 1 diabetes : data from the Australasian Diabetes Data Network registry

Aim: Hypertension increases complication risk in type 1 diabetes (T1D). We examined blood pressure (BP) in adolescents and young adults with T1D from the Australasian Diabetes Data Network, a prospective clinical diabetes registry in Australia and New Zealand. Methods: This was a longitudinal study of prospectively collected registry data. Inclusion criteria: T1D (duration ≥ 1 year) and age 16–25 years at last visit (2011–2020). Hypertension was defined as (on ≥ 3 occasions) systolic BP and/or diastolic BP > 95th percentile for age 130 and/or diastolic BP > 80 mmHg for age ≥ 18 years. Multivariable Generalised Estimating Equations were used to examine demographic and clinical factors associated with BP in the hypertensive range across all visits. Results: Data from 6338 young people (male 52.6%) attending 24 participating centres across 36,655 T1D healthcare visits were included; 2812 (44.4%) had BP recorded at last visit. Across all visits, 19.4% of youth aged < 18 years and 21.7% of those aged ≥ 18 years met criteria for hypertension. In both age groups, BP in the hypertensive range was associated with male sex, injection (vs. pump) therapy, higher HbA1c, and higher body mass index. Conclusions: There is a high proportion of adolescents and young adults reported with BP persistently in hypertensive ranges. Findings flag the additive contribution of hypertension to the well-established body of evidence indicating a need to review healthcare models for adolescents and young adults with T1D