Dietary intake, trace elements and serum protein status in young diabetics

Dietary intake of energy and nutrients and its relation to trace element and protein status, as observed in 27 diabetic children and 13 healthy controls are discussed. The diabetic children had consistently higher intakes than the healthy controls in nearly all respects, except for carbohydrate and ascorbic acid. In spite of this, the diabetic children had a significantly lower mean serum magnesium than the healthy controls. It is suggested that hypomagnesemia in diabetic children may be the result of increased urinary loss or diversion of magnesium from normal metabolic pathways in this disease. This review also revealed a significantly higher mean serum selenium level in the diabetic children than in the healthy controls. However, no significant correlation was observed between serum selenium concentrations and protein intake, suggesting that a factor other than protein intake underlay the elevated levels of serum selenium. The diabetic children as a group had significantly lower levels of selected serum proteins than the controls, in spite of a significantly higher intake of protein by the diabetic group. It is suggested that both reduced serum proteins and elevated levels of serum selenium in the diabetic children are an expression of altered metabolism in combination with the effects of current modes of insulin treatment in this disease.