Prevalence and type of anaemia in young Egyptian patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus.

Over a 2-month period, 200 type 1 diabetic patients attending a paediatric diabetic clinic in Cairo, Egypt were screened for anaemia and other complications of diabetes. The mean age was 11.2 years and the mean duration of diabetes was 4.0 years. Anaemia was diagnosed in 75 patients (37.5%) overall: 45 had microcytic hypochromic anaemia, 18 normocytic normochromic and 12 macrocytic hyperchromic. Of the 75, 41 patients (54.7%) had iron deficiency, 14 (18.7%) had folate deficiency and 14 (18.7%) had thalassaemia minor. Three patients (4%) had coeliac disease, and 18 patients (24%) had parasitic infections. None of the patients had hypothyroidism, renal failure or vitamin B12 deficiency.