Genetic and metabolic risk factors for the development of late complications in type I (insulin-dependent) diabetes

The genetic background seems to be involved in the development of type I diabetes and it might also be involved in the development of diabetic complications, but studies carried out so far have yielded conflicting results. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of some genetic markers and metabolic factors in the development of late diabetic complications. One hundred and twenty-seven patients (69 males, 58 females) with type I diabetes were evaluated for ABO and Rh blood groups, chlorpropamide alcohol flush (CPAF) and acetylator phenotype (AP) as well as for life-habits (smoking, alcohol use, diet and drug compliance), metabolic indexes (M-value, HbA1, cholesterol and triglyceride levels) and late complications of diabetes [coronary heart disease (CHD), arterial hypertension (AH), retinopathy and nephropathy]. Diabetic patients were more frequently fast acetylators and CPAF positive than controls and CPAF was more frequent among females than among males. None of the genetic markers used in this study appeared as a risk factor for the development of diabetic complications. At multiple logistic analysis different risk factors appeared for each microangiopathic complication. For retinopathy: female sex, duration of disease and triglyceride levels; for nephropathy: male sex, cholesterol levels and hypertension. These risk factors have already been recognized in previous studies, while the genetic markers evaluated in our study do not identify a greater or smaller risk for the development of late complications.