Context: Studies on bone mineral characteristics in children with type I diabetes mellitus (T1DM) have generated conflicting results.

Objective: to investigate bone mineral characteristics in children with T1DM and to analyze their associations with bone metabolism and IGF1 system.

Design: we recruited a cohort of caucasian patients with T1DM for at least 3 yr and healthy children between January 2003 and June 2004.

Setting: This was a university hospital-based study.

Participants: 127 patients and 319 controls aged 6 to 20 yr-old.

Methods: Dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry was performed in patients and controls. Serum bone alkaline phosphatase, CrossLaps, IGFI and IGFBP3 levels were determined in patients with values analyzed using our normative data from 1150 healthy children.

Results: After adjustment for age, sex, pubertal stage and BMI SDS, total body bone mineral content (BMC)/lean body mass was significantly lower in patients than in controls (P < 0.04). This difference was due to differences between the girls of the two groups. Girls with T1DM had significantly lower lumbar spine and total body BMC than control girls (P = 0.002), whereas no such difference was observed in boys. Serum bone alkaline phosphatase level was significantly lower in girls than in boys (P = 0.04). Low serum IGFI levels and the administration of large amounts of insulin were found to have independent deleterious effects on BMC for children of all ages and both sexes, whereas disease duration and HbA1c levels did not.

Conclusions: a sex-related difference in the impairment of bone mineral characteristics was identified in children with T1DM. Longitudinal studies are required to investigate whether boys may gain slightly less bone mass during skeletal growth.