Serum Vitamin C Status In children with Type I Diabetes Mellitus

Abstract

Serum vitamin C status was studied in 50 children (29males and 21females) with insulin dependent diabetes mellitus admitted to Basrah maternity and children hospital, from the period of June 2001 till May 2002. 54 healthy children (31 males and 23 females) admitted to the same hospital with acute illnesses like chest infection were randomly selected as a controls. Low serum vitamin C level was detected in (44%) of diabetic children compared to (7.41%) of the control group which was highly significant (P<0.001). The two groups differ significantly in the frequency of consuming fruits per week and serum C-reactive protein (P<0.01). In diabetic children with low serum vitamin C level, the frequency of fruit consumption per week was significantly lower than those with normal vitamin C level. In regard to serum C-reactive protein,(70.6%]of positive cases were presented in children with low serum vitamin C level while only(29.4%]of positive cases occurred in those with normal serum vitamin C level. There was no association between serum vitamin C and degree of glycemic control. After adjustments for differences in dietary intake of vitamin C and C-reactive protein, children with diabetes had significantly lower serum vitamin C concentration than did children without diabetes.