The Effect of Ethnicity in the Rate of Beta-Cell Functional Loss in the First 3 Years After Type 1 Diabetes Diagnosis

J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2020 Dec 1;105(12):e4393-e4406. doi: 10.1210/clinem/dgaa348.

Abstract

Objective: We set forth to compare ethnicities for metabolic and immunological characteristics at the clinical diagnosis of type 1 diabetes (T1D) and assess the effect of ethnicity on beta-cell functional loss within 3 years after clinical diagnosis.

Research methods and design: We studied participants in TrialNet New Onset Intervention Trials (n = 624, median age = 14.4 years, 58% male, 8.7% Hispanic) and followed them prospectively for 3 years. Mixed meal tolerance tests (MMTT) were performed within 6 months following clinical diagnosis and repeated semiannually. Unless otherwise indicated, analyses were adjusted for age, sex, BMI Z-score, and diabetes duration.

Results: At T1D clinical diagnosis, Hispanics, compared with non-Hispanic whites (NHW), had a higher frequency of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) (44.7% vs 25.3%, OR = 2.36, P = 0.01), lower fasting glucose (97 vs 109 mg/dL, P = 0.02) and higher fasting C-peptide (1.23 vs 0.94 ng/mL, P = 0.02) on the first MMTT, and higher frequency of ZnT8 autoantibody positivity (n = 201, 94.1% vs 64%, OR = 7.98, P = 0.05). After exclusion of participants in experimental arms of positive clinical trials, C-peptide area under the curve (AUC) trajectories during the first 3 years after clinical diagnosis were not significantly different between Hispanics and NHW after adjusting for age, sex, BMI-z score, and DKA (n = 413, P = 0.14).

Conclusion: Despite differences in the metabolic and immunological characteristics at clinical diagnosis of T1D between Hispanics and NHW, C-peptide trajectories did not differ significantly in the first 3 years following clinical diagnosis after adjustment for body mass index and other confounders. These findings may inform the design of observational studies and intervention trials in T1D.

Keywords: C-peptide; Hispanics; beta-cell function; ethnic minorities; ethnicity; type 1 diabetes.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • C-Peptide / blood
  • Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / ethnology*
  • Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / metabolism*
  • Female
  • Hispanic or Latino
  • Humans
  • Insulin-Secreting Cells / metabolism*
  • Male
  • Prospective Studies
  • White People / ethnology

Substances

  • C-Peptide