Evolution of Cardiovascular Risk Factors Related to BMI and Metabolic Control in Children and Adolescents With Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus: A Cohort Study

Purpose: This study aims to evaluate the evolution of cardiovascular risk factors related to body mass index (BMI) and metabolic control in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) in the first year of the COVID‐19 pandemic. Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study of patients aged 2–16 years with a T1DM diagnosis ≥1 year at baseline treated at a diabetes clinic in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It was collected the trajectory of BMI‐for‐age (BMI/A) and height‐for‐age (H/A), lipid profile, and glycemic control (GC). The statistical analysis used mixed‐effects linear regression models for longitudinal analysis. There was a significance level of 5%. Results: There were a total of 136 patients; 74.3% were aged ≥10 years, and 66.2% had a time since diagnosis ≥5 years. At baseline, there was a predominance of eutrophy (66.2%). Over two‐thirds (68.2%) of the patients had a glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) value greater than the target, 24% high triglycerides (TG), 40.4% high total cholesterol (TC), 22.1% high low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL‐c), and 19% high non‐high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL‐c) levels. BMI/A, TG, TC, and non‐HDL‐c increased significantly during the follow‐up period. Conclusion: In the first year of the COVID‐19 pandemic, there was an increase in BMI/A and a worsening in the lipid profile of children and adolescents with T1DM. These manifestations may contribute to early diabetes complications.