Kidney failure less likely in type 1 diabetics

It can seem like children who develop type 1 diabetes in their infancy or adolescence are faced with an extreme situation. Not only is their treatment regime more difficult and impinges more on their lifestyle, the risk of complications related to diabetes increased with time. However, according to a Swedish report, kidney failure in adulthood is less likely amongst children who develop type 1 diabetes early.
Type 1 diabetes occurs when insulin-producing cells in the pancreas are attacked and destroyed by the immune system. The study in Swede, at the Umea University Hospital utilised large amounts of data from nationwide registers, and subjected it to expert analysis. This data included over 12,000 cases of juvenile onset type 1 diabetes.
The researchers followed the data of over 4000 patients who had had diabetes, and paid particular attention to diabetes-related ESRD (End-stage renal disease). They found that of those children who had developed diabetes before the age of five, none had developed ESRD, which commonly leads to kidney failure.
Researchers outlined their best guess as to the mechanism behind these figures, stating that the closer diabetes occurs to puberty may influence diabetes complications.