Abstract
The prevalence of dyslipidaemia in Arab children with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) and its relation to glycaemic control was studied in a group of 55 diabetic children and 55 controls. Serum cholesterol, HDL, LDL and triglycerides were measured in both groups. The degree of glycaemic control was assessed by measuring glycosylated haemoglobin. Results showed that children with IDDM had higher mean cholesterol levels (4.53 ± 0.64 vs. 3.97 ± 0.86 mmol/lp < O.001), LDL levels (3.15 ± 0.79 vs. 2.75 ± 0.74 mmol/l, p < 0.01) and HDL levels (1.21 ± 0.42 vs. 1.06 ± 0.35 mmol/ 1, p < 0.05) than non-diabetic controls. Serum cholesterol levels were raised in 63.6% of children with diabetes and 29.1% of controls (p < 0.001), while serum cholesterol and triglycerides were raised in 9.1% compared with 3.6% in the control group. Two of the diabetic children had isolated hypertriglyceridaemia compared to none in the controls. There was no significant association between serum lipids and glycaemic control as measured by glycosylated haemoglobin.