THE EFFECT OF GLYCEMIC CONTROL ON PLASMA PREALBUMIN LEVELS IN TYPE-1 DIABETIC CHILDREN

Plasma prealbumin levels have been used as a sensitive biochemical index in the assessment of nutritional status. The present study was undertaken to determine if diabetic children with uncontrolled diabetes are at greater nutritional risk than those with controlled glycemia. Plasma prealbumin was determined using a radial immunoassay in 42 diabetics and 20 age-matched normal volunteers. Results (mean +/- SE) show that prealbumin levels are significantly (p < 0.02) lower in diabetics (21.5 +/- 1.0) than in normals (25.8 +/- 1.3). Compared with normals, prealbumin levels in controlled diabetics are similar: whereas uncontrolled diabetics have significantly lower (p < 0.05) prealbumin levels. Prealbumin levels were 20.4 +/- 1.7 in uncontrolled diabetics (GHb > 9.00), 21.8 +/- 2.3 in intermediately controlled diabetics (GHb 7.0-9.0), and 22.2 +/- 1.5 in controlled diabetics (GHb < 7.0). The data suggest that diabetics in good control are nutritionally similar to the normal population and that patients in poor control have significantly lower prealbumin than the normal population indicating that metabolic derangement may result in malnutrition.