Frequency of Early-Morning Rise in Blood Glucose in Children With Diabetes at Camp
- Bruce B Duncan, MD,
- Maria Ines Schmidt, MD, PhD,
- George J Ellis III, MD,
- Clarence E Davis, PhD and
- Gerardo Heiss, MD
- Departments of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Department of Medicine, Duke University Durham, North Carolina Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul Porto Alegre, Brazil
- Address correspondence and reprint requests to Bruce B. Duncan, MD, Assessoria Cientifica—Faculdade de Medicina, UFRGS, Rua Ramiro Barcellos, 2600/420, Porto Alegre, R. S. 90210, Brazil.
Abstract
To estimate the frequency of an early-morning glucose rise (EMR) in relatively unselected children with insulindependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM), we assessed capillary blood glucose (CBG) at midsleep (0200-0430) and prebreakfast (0700-0800) in 97 children with diabetes at camp. The EMR (prebreakfast CBG-midsleep CGB) was inversely related to the midsleep CBG level (r = −.45, P <.001). Of the 49 children with midsleep CBG <200 mg/dl, the mean EMR was 34 ± 60 mg/dl, and 18 of these children had rises of >40 mg/dl. In conclusion, when midsleep glycemia is <200 mg/dl, a rise in blood glucose from midsleep to prebreakfast, often >40 mg/dl, is a common element of glycemic control among children with IDDM. The relative importance of the Somogyi phenomenon, the dawn phenomenon, and mere insulin insufficiency in the early-morning hours cannot be determined from these data.
- Copyright © 1988 by the American Diabetes Association
