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AIMS: To determine the current level of diabetes services and to compare the results with previous national surveys. METHODS: A questionnaire was mailed to all paediatricians in the UK identified as providing care for children with diabetes aged under 16 years. Information was sought on staffing, personnel, clinic size, facilities, and patterns of care. Responses were compared with results of two previous national surveys. RESULTS: Replies were received from 244 consultant paediatricians caring for an estimated 17 192 children. A further 2234 children were identified as being cared for by other consultants who did not contribute to the survey. Of 244 consultants, 78% expressed a special interest in diabetes and 91% saw children in a designated diabetic clinic. In 93% of the clinics there was a specialist nurse (44% were not trained to care for children; 47% had nurse:patient ratio >1:100), 65% a paediatric dietitian, and in 25% some form of specialist psychology or counselling available. Glycated haemoglobin was measured routinely at clinics in 88%, retinopathy screening was performed in 87%, and microalbuminuria measured in 66%. Only 34% consultants used a computer database. There were significant differences between the services provided by paediatricians expressing a special interest in diabetes compared with "non-specialists", the latter describing less frequent clinic attendance of dietitians or psychologists, less usage of glycated haemoglobin measurements, and less screening for vascular complications. Non-specialist clinics met significantly fewer of the recommendations of good practice described by Diabetes UK. CONCLUSIONS: The survey shows improvements in services provided for children with diabetes, but serious deficiencies remain. There is a shortage of diabetes specialist nurses trained to care for children and paediatric dietitians, and a major shortfall in the provision of psychology/counselling services. The services described confirm the need for more consultant paediatricians to receive specialist training and to develop expertise and experience in childhood diabetes.

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Marked disturbance in eating behaviour and obesity are common sequelae of hypothalamic damage. To investigate whether these were associated with dysfunctional leptin central feedback, we evaluated serum leptin and leptin binding activity in 37 patients (age 3.5-21 yr) with tumour or trauma involving the hypothalamic-pituitary axis compared with 138 healthy children (age 5.0-18.2 yr). Patients were subdivided by BMI <2 SDS or > or = 2 SDS and healthy children and children with simple obesity of comparable age and pubertal status served as controls. Patients had higher BMI (mean 1.9 vs 0.2 SDS; p <0.001), a greater proportion had BMI > or = 2 SDS (54% vs 8%; p <0.001) and higher serum leptin (mean 2.1 vs 0.04 SDS; p <0.001) than healthy children. Serum leptin (mean 1.1 vs -0.1 SDS; p = 0.004) and values adjusted for BMI (median 0.42 vs 0.23 microg/l:kg/m2; p = 0.02) were higher in patients with BMI <2 SDS. However, serum leptin adjusted for BMI was similar in patients with BMI > or = 2 SDS compared to corresponding controls (1.08 vs 0.95; p = 0.6). Log serum leptin correlated with BMI SDS in all subject groups but the relationship in patients with BMI <2 SDS was of higher magnitude (r = 0.65, slope = 0.29, p =0.05 for difference between slopes) than in healthy controls (r = 0.42, slope = 0.19). Serum leptin binding activity (median 7.5 vs 9.3%; p = 0.02) and values adjusted for BMI (median 0.28 vs 0.48 % x m2/kg; p <0.001) were lower in patients than in healthy children. The markedly elevated leptin levels with increasing BMI in non-obese patients with hypothalamic-pituitary damage are suggestive of an unrestrained pattern of leptin secretion. This along with low leptin binding activity and hence higher free leptin levels would be consistent with central leptin insensitivity.

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The presentation of diabetes in young people has changed significantly over recent years. Not only has there been a rising incidence of Type 1 diabetes, especially in young children, but also there is an increasing recognition of Type 2 diabetes. Young people are also increasingly being diagnosed with genetic defects of B-cell function and with diabetes in association with cystic fibrosis and other chronic diseases. There have also been significant changes in the pattern of paediatric diabetes care. This is increasingly being provided by a specialized paediatric multidisciplinary team in each health district working to agreed national standards. Despite improvements, diabetes control is still suboptimal with a high incidence of complications being reported in young adults. The challenge over the next few years is the provision of a uniform, equitable and first class paediatric service throughout the UK together with the introduction of new approaches to care, aiming to improve individual diabetic control and reduce long-term complications. Increased collaboration with adult colleagues is needed to enable the transition of care in adolescence to a service that young adults perceive to meet their needs, encourage their attendance and improve their diabetes control and quality of life. A national paediatric diabetes register together with regular audit will encourage these objectives.

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The relationship between physical activity, glycaemic control, and skinfold thickness was studied in children with diabetes. Patients recorded details of activity in a home diary over a 6-day period, and provided eight serial capillary dried blood spots for glucose analysis during a 24-h period. Levels of activity were assessed using a semi-quantitative scoring scheme. No correlation was found between total activity score and glycaemic control. However, the activity score before 9 am showed significant correlation with mean blood glucose (p = 0.005) and fructosamine (p = 0.04). The time of rising in the morning showed significant correlation with blood glucose after lunch (p = 0.004) and with fructosamine (p = 0.04). A significant correlation was found between early morning activity and subscapular skinfold thickness. The association between activity and glycaemic control warrants further investigation, as it suggests that patients who engage in energetic activity early in the morning may achieve lower blood glucose and fructosamine levels than their less active peers.

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The relationship between the insulin-breakfast interval, postprandial increase in blood glucose, and glycaemic control was studied in 58 children with diabetes. Patients recorded insulin-breakfast intervals in a home diary over a seven day period, and during a 24 hour period at the weekend provided eight serial capillary dried blood spots for glucose analysis. The highest mean blood glucose value occurred two hours after breakfast and showed a significant correlation with fructosamine concentrations. Weekend insulin-breakfast intervals ranged from 2-30 minutes, with 70% reporting intervals of less than 15 minutes. There was a significant correlation between the weekend insulin-breakfast interval and the after breakfast increase in blood glucose with a mean increment of 0.4 mmol/l in the 30 minute group and 7.2 mmol/l in the 2 minute group. Over the whole study period, children with mean insulin-breakfast intervals of two to 12 minutes had a mean fructosamine concentration of 376 mumol/l compared with 341 mumol/l in those with intervals of 15-35 minutes. This study has shown that the interval between insulin injection and breakfast significantly influences the morning postprandial rise in blood glucose and consequently short term glycaemic control. It is therefore important that patients are encouraged to leave an interval of about 30 minutes between insulin injection and breakfast.

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This audit analysed the Tanner and Whitehouse II twenty bone (TW2) method of bone age assessment which was used in our department, and compared it with the Greulich and Pyle (GP) method. 50 previous bone ages were independently re-calculated by each of three registrars using both techniques, with the time taken to perform each assessment being recorded. For each method the interobserver variation was analysed in terms of the spread of results. The intraobserver variation in TW2 was determined by comparing the bone age originally reported with that subsequently calculated on the same film by the same registrar. The average spread of results was 0.74 years for TW2 method, and 0.96 years for the GP method and this difference is not statistically significant at the 5% level. The average intraobserver variation to TW2 was 0.33 years, but with 95% confidence limits of -0.87 to +1.53 years. The average time taken was 7.9 min for TW2 and 1.4 min for GP assessments. It was concluded that the GP method gave similar reproducibility and was faster than the TW2 method. Following clinical discussion the routine departmental bone age assessment method was changed from the TW2 to the GP method.

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Four children presented with cerebral oedema secondary to diabetic ketoacidosis, each of whom had a different clinical picture and time of onset of neurological deterioration. No single factor emerged as the cause of the cerebral oedema, but disturbances in brain water balance appeared to be already operative at the time of presentation with ketoacidosis. Irregularities in treatment may exacerbate these disturbances, leading to frank cerebral oedema. Diagnosis of this dangerous complication of diabetic ketoacidosis depends on clinical awareness; the diagnosis may be confirmed by CT scan. Management remains empirical.

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Insulin dependent diabetes mellitus presenting in children under five years old exhibits several clinical and management features that differ from diabetes presenting in older children. In this review of the current population of the Oxford children's diabetes clinic, children with diabetes diagnosed aged 0- less than 5 years are compared with those diagnosed aged 5- less than 10 years to illustrate these differences. The mean annual age specific incidence of diabetes for children aged 0- less than 5 is 9.9/100 000 compared with 13.8/100 000 for the children diagnosed aged 5- less than 10. Although children with diabetes currently aged less than 5 comprise only 8% of the clinic population, such children ultimately make up 41% of the total number of children with diabetes aged under 15 attending the clinic. Diabetes diagnosed in children under the age of 5 seems to have increased in incidence over the past 10 years, exhibits a male preponderence (1.5:1), and shows an unusual seasonal variation in incidence with an autumn/early winter trough, late winter/early spring peak, and the absence of mid-summer trough seen in other age groups. First degree family history was positive in 16% of children diagnosed under the age of 5 compared with 10% of the group diagnosed aged 5- less than 10. In none of these children was the mother the affected relative.

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A multiple insulin injection regimen using a self-contained injection device Novopen (Novo Industries, Bagsvaerd, Copenhagen, Denmark) was assessed in 11 adolescents (age range 12.1-16.9 years) with diabetes. Ten patients completed the 3-month study period and eight expressed a wish to continue with the regimen, finding that the advantages it offered out-weighed the inconvenience of multiple injections. Mean glycosylated haemoglobin fell over the 3 months of the study period from 13.7 +/- 2.7% to 11.7 +/- 3.4% (NS) and there was a trend towards lower mean blood values which reached significance at the pre-lunch measurement (p less than 0.02).

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Albuminuria was studied in 40 diabetic children before and after a standardised exercise test, and also in 21 normal children; the results are expressed as geometric mean (95% range) of urine albumin:urine creatinine ratio (mg/mg). There was no significant difference between the mean resting albumin:creatinine ratio in the two groups, or between these ratios before and after exercise in the normal children. In the diabetic children, however, the mean urine albumin:creatinine ratio after exercise was significantly higher than both the value before exercise and the postexercise value of the normal children, with 10 of 40 diabetic children showing a value after exercise greater than the 95% range of the geometric mean of the control group. The diabetic children were also studied by random urine albumin:creatinine ratios and split (erect:supine) 24 hour urine collection; none was abnormal.

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