Type 1 Diabetes: The Earlier the Onset, the Worse the Prognosis

Many questions persist about the excess mortality and cardiovascular risk in young adults with type 1 diabetes, particularly with regard to age at diabetes onset. Investigators addressed this issue with an analysis of 27,195 patients with type 1diabetes identified in the Swedish National Diabetes Register and 135,178 nondiabetes controls matched by age, sex, and county from the general Swedish population.

The glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) values were higher in patients with younger age at onset (diagnosis at 0–10 years) than those with later onset (diagnosis at ages 26–30). At a median follow-up of 10 years, there were 959 deaths in the diabetes group and 1501 in the control group. Compared with controls, people with early onset of diabetes ha…