Effect of Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus on Height, Weight and Body Mass Index in Children and Adolescents Attending a Specialized Diabetes Care Center of Bangladesh.

Growth in children is influenced by multiple factors, including endocrine diseases like diabetes mellitus (DM). Data on growth parameters in children with type 1 DM (T1DM) are scarce in Bangladesh. This cross-sectional study, aimed to evaluate the anthropometric parameters of children with T1DM, was conducted at the Changing Diabetes in Children (CDiC), Bangladesh Institute of Research and Rehabilitation in Diabetes Endocrine and Metabolic Disorders General Hospital-2 (BIRDEM-2), Dhaka, Bangladesh from May 2018 to April 2019. Data on anthropometric parameters (standing height, weight, body mass index [BMI]) were collected in 2 groups, Group A: 82 children with T1DM and Group B: 82 age-sex matched otherwise healthy children having no DM. The age range of the study subjects was 2-9 years; there were 43 males and 39 females in each group. Height for age Z scores (HAZ) and percentile distribution, weight for age Z (WAZ) scores and percentile distribution, body mass index (BMI), body mass for age Z scores (BAZ) and percentile distribution were calculated using the reference values suggested by Indian Association of Pediatrics. Metabolic control was evaluated by measuring glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c). With slight male predominance (52.44%), the mean age of Group A and Group B was 14.27±3.77 years. The percentile distribution of height for age revealed significantly higher number of stunted subjects in Group A compared to Group B, both in male and female (p<0.05). The percentile distribution of weight showed higher number of underweight subjects in Group A than in Group B, both in males and females though the difference was statistically significant (p<0.05) only in males. Incase of males, the frequency of underweight respondents (according to weight for age Z scores) was significantly higher in Group A than in Group B. The mean of height in Group A (1.48±0.2 meter) was lower than in Group B (1.57±0.16 meter) and the mean weight in Group A (47.16±15.34kg) was also lower than Group B (49.82±14.77kg), though, these differences were not statistically significant (p>0.05). The HAZ and WAZ scores were lower in Group A than in Group B both in male and female subjects, though only in male respondents the difference of WAZ was statistically significant (p<0.05). The mean difference of HbA1c level was statistically significant in between the groups both incase of weight for age distribution and body mass for age distribution (p<0.05). This study concludes that children and adolescent with T1DM were shorter and lighter compared to their non-diabetic, otherwise healthy peers.