Helicobacter pylori infection and insulin requirement among children with type 1 diabetes mellitus

Objective. Helicobacter pylori induces gastric inflammation and the product ion of cytokines in gastric inflammation and the production of cytokines in infected individuals. Theoretically, this increased production of cytokine s could be deleterious for the control of the glycemia of patients with dia betes. This study aimed to describe the insulin requirement among patients with type 1 diabetes and H pylori infection compared with uninfected counte rparts. Methods. Cross-sectional design. Demographic information (age, gender, race , annual family income, and number of individuals per room in the household ) and clinical information (age at diagnosis of diabetes, duration of illne ss, weight, height, compliance with clinical appointments, daily insulin un its per kilogram of body weight [IU/kg/d], and glycosylated hemoglobin A le vel) was obtained from children and adolescents with diagnosis of type 1 di abetes mellitus who were seen at Children's Hospital in New Orleans. A tota l of 2 mt of blood was also collected and sera were tested for H pylori-spe cific immunoglobulin G antibodies using an enzyme immunoassay. The daily in sulin requirement among infected and uninfected children was compared, and the effect of other variables was evaluated with multiple linear regression . Results. Of the 71 subjects who were evaluated (median age: 11 years), 11 ( 15.5%) were found to be infected. H pylori infection was more frequent amon g subjects who were older, who had a lower family income, and who were blac k. Infected children were found to require more insulin (1.2 vs 0.9 IU/Kg/d ) and their glycosylated hemoglobin A level was higher (14.9 vs 11.8) than the level found in uninfected subjects. Multiple linear regression analysis identified H pylori infection duration of illness, race (black), body mass index, and gender (female), to be associated independently with increased daily insulin requirement (IU/kg/d). Conclusion. In our study population, children with type 1 diabetes and H py lori infection had an increased daily insulin requirement compared with the requirement of their uninfected peers. The reason for this association req uires additional investigation.