Advanced Glycation Endproducts in Children with Diabetes

Objectives To estimate skin content of advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs) by measurements of skin intrinsic fluorescence (SIF) from youth with diabetes in comparison with a population of youth and adults without diabetes. Study design Using a specialized instrument, skin AGEs were estimated from skin auto-fluorescence induced at 420 nm and corrected for skin pigmentation (SIF420([kx0.5, km0.5])) in children with types 1 and 2 diabetes, as well as children and adults without diabetes. The effect of age, sex, ethnicity, and diabetes status on SIF420([kx0.5, km0.5]) was analyzed. Results SIF420([kx0.5,) (km0.5)] increased with chronologic age and was higher in children with diabetes compared with children without diabetes (P =.0001). SIF420[kx0.5, km0.5] from 43% of children with type 1 diabetes and 55% with type 2 diabetes overlapped the range of adults without diabetes. SIF420[kx0.5, km0.5] was higher in girls than boys in patients with diabetes patients. However, there was no effect of sex or race on SIF420[kx0.5, km0.5] in subjects without diabetes. Conclusions After 4-6 years' exposure to diabetes, many children will have precociously high estimates of skin AGEs, comparable with levels that would naturally accumulate only after 25 years of chronologic aging. Potentially, this technology identifies children who are at increased risk for complications.