Metabolic syndrome associated with higher glycemic variability in type 1 diabetes: A multicenter cross-sectional study in china

AIMS: The comorbidity of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is an obstacle to glucose control in patients with T1DM. We compared glycemic profiles using continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) systems in patients with T1DM with or without MetS. METHODS: This was a multicenter cross-sectional study of patients with T1DM (N = 207) with or without MetS. CGM data were collected from study enrollment until discharge during a 1-week study session. We analyzed baseline HbA1c, average glucose, estimated HbA1c, time in range (TIR), time above range (TAR), time below range (TBR), coefficient of variation (CV), postprandial glucose excursions (PPGE) and other glycemic variability (GV) metrics. Logistic regression was developed to investigate the association between MetS and CGM metrics. RESULTS: The results showed higher average baseline HbA1c levels, and a higher percentage of patients with baseline HbA1c levels ≥7.5%, in the T1DM with MetS group. Furthermore, MetS was associated with GV, which indicated a higher CV in patients with T1DM with MetS. However, our results showed that TAR, TIR, TBR and other GV metrics were comparable between the two groups. The T1DM with MetS group also had a higher proportion of patients with high CV (≥ 36%) than the group without MetS. In multivariable logistic regression analysis, the presence of MetS was a risk factor for high CV (≥ 36%) in our study participants. CONCLUSIONS: T1DM patients with MetS in our study had better β-cell function. However, MetS was associated with worse glycemic control characterized by higher GV and HbA1c levels. Efforts should be expanded to improve treatment of MetS in patients with T1DM to achieve better glycemic control.