The Relationship between Metabolic Control Status and Complications and Fetuin A in Children with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

Objective: Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1D); It is a chronic disease that can cause micro and macrovascular complications. Fetuin A synthesized in hepatocytes is a marker of vascular diseases. The production of this glycoprotein increases with hyperlipidemia and hyperglycemia. In our study, we aimed to determine the relationship between the factors affecting Fetuin A level and metabolic status and complications in children and adolescents with T1D. Methods: Children with a diagnosis of T1D of at least 3 years and healthy people of similar age and gender were included in our study. The subjects were divided into subgroups as metabolic control according to their HbA1c levels in the last one year, and statistical analyzes were performed in comparison with healthy controls. Results: The study consisted of 111 subjects, 74 (37 females) with T1D and 37 healthy controls (19 females). The mean age of the cases with T1D was 15.03±3.03 years, and 14.58±2.72 years in the healthy control group. Sex, BMI, height SDS, body weight SDS and puberty stages were statistically similar between the patient and control groups (p>0.05). Fetuin A levels of patients with type 1 diabetes were significantly higher than the healthy control group (p<0.001). There was no statistical difference between the good, moderate and bad metabolically controlled T1D subgroups in terms of Fetuin A levels (p>0.05). However, the Fetuin A averages of the three groups formed separately from the metabolic control were statistically higher than the Fetuin A averages of the control group (p<0.001). There was no significant difference between Fetuin A levels of T1D patients with and without complications (p>0.05). There was no significant difference between Fetuin A levels of cases with T1D and those with and without overweight (p=0.422). When T1D patients were compared according to dyslipidemia/hepatosteatosis status, no significant difference was found between Fetuin-A levels (p>0.05). Discussion and Conclusion: Fetuin A levels of the patients with T1D were significantly higher in the healthy control group (p<0.001), whereas the Fetuin A levels of the groups formed compared to the metabolic control were not statistically different (p>0.05). In conclusion; The number of articles about Fetuin A in children with T1D is few in the literature. More studies are needed to evaluate the association of Fetuin A with poor control and complications in children with T1D.