Dietary fats do not contribute to hyperlipidemia in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the relative influence of diet, metabolic control, and familial factors on lipids in children with type 1 diabetes and control subjects. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: We assessed fasting serum cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, lipoprotein(a), apolipoprotein (apo)-A1, and apoB in 79 children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes and 61 age- and sex-matched control subjects, together with dietary intakes using a quantitative food frequency questionnaire.
RESULTS: Total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, apoB, HDL cholesterol, and apoA1 were significantly higher in children with diabetes. Children with diabetes had higher percentage energy intake from complex carbohydrates (P = 0.001) and fiber intake (P = 0.02), and they had lower intake of refined sugar (P < 0.001) and percentage energy from saturated fat (P = 0.045) than control subjects. Total cholesterol (beta = 0.43, P < 0.001), LDL cholesterol (beta = 0.4, P < 0.001), and apoB (beta = 0.32, P = 0.006) correlated independently with HbA(1c) but not dietary intake. HDL cholesterol (beta = 0.24, P = 0.05) and apoA1 (beta = 0.32, P = 0.004) correlated independently with HbA(1c), and HDL cholesterol (beta = -0.34, P = 0.009) correlated with percentage energy intake from complex carbohydrates. Triglycerides correlated independently with percentage energy intake from complex carbohydrates (beta = 0.33, P = 0.01) and insulin dose (beta = 0.26, P = 0.04). Subjects with diabetes and elevated LDL (>3.35 mmol/l, >130 mg/dl), for whom dietary therapy would be recommended, had significantly higher HbA(1c) (P = 0.007), but they had higher intake of complex carbohydrates than subjects with LDL cholesterol <3.35 mmol/l.
CONCLUSIONS: Lipid abnormalities remain common in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes who adhere to current dietary recommendations, and they relate to metabolic control but not dietary intake.