PhD Scientific Days 2025

Poster Session II. - W: Conservative Medicine

Prevalence of overweight and obesity in children with type 1 diabetes mellitus over the past 10 years

Name of the presenter

Muzslay Eszter

Institute/workplace of the presenter

Semmelweis University, Pediatric Center, Bókay Street Department

Authors

Eszter Muzslay¹, Rozália Ildikó Pusztai², Vilmos Zoltán Forstreuter², Vivien Herczeg¹, Péter Tóth-Heyn, habil. PhD¹, Andrea Luczay, PhD¹

1: Semmelweis University, Pediatric Center, Bókay Street Department
2: Semmelweis University, Faculty of Medicine

Text of the abstract

Introduction: The prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity are increasing worldwide. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), if the body mass index (BMI) Z-score is between 1 and 2, overweight; if it is above 2, obesity is defined. In type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM), the strict diet, exogenous insulin, physical activity, and greater self-control might have an impact on weight and body composition. According to the international SWEET database, the prevalence of overweight and obesity among children with T1DM is 31.8%.
Aims: We aimed to investigate the prevalence of overweight and obesity in children with T1DM treated at our clinic.
Methods: Data of patients with T1DM diagnosed between 2014.01.01. and 2023.12.31. at the Pediatric Center, Semmelweis University, were retrospectively collected. Anthropometric data were collected 3 months after diagnosis of T1DM and at the first annual follow-up. The BMI Z-score ranges defined by the WHO were used to classify children into overweight or obese groups. Patients with missing anthropometric data were excluded.
Result: After exclusions, data from 665 patients were analyzed (376 boys, 56.5%). The mean age at diagnosis of T1DM was 9 ± 4.3 years. After 3 months from the diagnosis of T1DM, overweight or obesity was observed in 16.4% and after one year in 16.7% of children. Among them, the prevalence of obesity was 5.9% at the 3-month follow-up and 5.3% at the one-year follow-up. In the last studied year (2023), the combined prevalence of overweight and obesity was 21.7% after 3 months (13% of whom fell into the obesity category) and 27.5% after 1 year (10.1% of whom fell into the obesity category). The prevalence of overweight and obesity did not differ between the first and the last studied years (p=0.15 after 3 months and p=0.28 after one year); nor between boys and girls (p=0.9 after 3 months and p=0.94 after one year).
Conclusion: The incidence of overweight among children with T1DM treated at our clinic has not increased significantly over the past 10 years, but there are more obese children among those who are overweight. Our results are in line with international data and highlight that weight problems are still present in the care of children with T1DM, even with strict dietary education.
Funding: Semmelweis 250+ Excellence PhD Scholarship