Age at type 1 diabetes onset does not influence attained brain volume

Abstract Introduction Type 1 diabetes is suspected to hamper brain growth, implying that people with earlier diabetes onset would, on average, achieve lower maximal brain volume. We set out to test this hypothesis. Methods Examining brain MRI scans of middle-aged people with type 1 diabetes, we rela...

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Main Authors: Tor-björn Claesson, Stefan Mutter, Jukka Putaala, Eero Salli, Daniel Gordin, Per-Henrik Groop, Juha Martola, Lena M. Thorn
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-02-01
Series:BMC Endocrine Disorders
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12902-025-01868-6
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author Tor-björn Claesson
Stefan Mutter
Jukka Putaala
Eero Salli
Daniel Gordin
Per-Henrik Groop
Juha Martola
Lena M. Thorn
author_facet Tor-björn Claesson
Stefan Mutter
Jukka Putaala
Eero Salli
Daniel Gordin
Per-Henrik Groop
Juha Martola
Lena M. Thorn
author_sort Tor-björn Claesson
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Introduction Type 1 diabetes is suspected to hamper brain growth, implying that people with earlier diabetes onset would, on average, achieve lower maximal brain volume. We set out to test this hypothesis. Methods Examining brain MRI scans of middle-aged people with type 1 diabetes, we related age at diabetes onset to intracranial volume in 180 participants, as well as to cerebral gray and white matter volumes in a subset of 113 (63%) participants, using fractional polynomial regression models. Of the participants, 118 (67%) had been diagnosed with diabetes before 18 years of age. Results Of our participants, 54% were women, the median age 40.0 (IQR 33.2–45.0) years and the range of age at diabetes onset was 1.2–39.0 years. We found no association between age at diabetes onset and intracranial volume (p = 0.85), cerebral white (p = 0.10), or gray matter volumes (p = 0.12). Further, correlations between age at diabetes onset and the measured brain volumes were poor in analyses stratified for sex (all correlation coefficients ρ ≤ 0.16). Conclusions We found no association between age at diabetes onset and attained intracranial volume or gray or white matter volumes, indicating that type 1 diabetes may not have a clinically significant influence on brain growth.
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spelling doaj-art-b527e7b37d034e8a9d36ede9aca692602025-08-20T02:15:00ZengBMCBMC Endocrine Disorders1472-68232025-02-012511710.1186/s12902-025-01868-6Age at type 1 diabetes onset does not influence attained brain volumeTor-björn Claesson0Stefan Mutter1Jukka Putaala2Eero Salli3Daniel Gordin4Per-Henrik Groop5Juha Martola6Lena M. Thorn7Department of Radiology, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University HospitalFolkhälsan Research CentreDepartment of Neurology, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University HospitalDepartment of Radiology, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University HospitalDepartment of Nephrology, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University HospitalFolkhälsan Research CentreDepartment of Radiology, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University HospitalFolkhälsan Research CentreAbstract Introduction Type 1 diabetes is suspected to hamper brain growth, implying that people with earlier diabetes onset would, on average, achieve lower maximal brain volume. We set out to test this hypothesis. Methods Examining brain MRI scans of middle-aged people with type 1 diabetes, we related age at diabetes onset to intracranial volume in 180 participants, as well as to cerebral gray and white matter volumes in a subset of 113 (63%) participants, using fractional polynomial regression models. Of the participants, 118 (67%) had been diagnosed with diabetes before 18 years of age. Results Of our participants, 54% were women, the median age 40.0 (IQR 33.2–45.0) years and the range of age at diabetes onset was 1.2–39.0 years. We found no association between age at diabetes onset and intracranial volume (p = 0.85), cerebral white (p = 0.10), or gray matter volumes (p = 0.12). Further, correlations between age at diabetes onset and the measured brain volumes were poor in analyses stratified for sex (all correlation coefficients ρ ≤ 0.16). Conclusions We found no association between age at diabetes onset and attained intracranial volume or gray or white matter volumes, indicating that type 1 diabetes may not have a clinically significant influence on brain growth.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12902-025-01868-6Age of onsetBrainGray matterWhite matterMagnetic resonance imagingDiabetes mellitus, type 1
spellingShingle Tor-björn Claesson
Stefan Mutter
Jukka Putaala
Eero Salli
Daniel Gordin
Per-Henrik Groop
Juha Martola
Lena M. Thorn
Age at type 1 diabetes onset does not influence attained brain volume
BMC Endocrine Disorders
Age of onset
Brain
Gray matter
White matter
Magnetic resonance imaging
Diabetes mellitus, type 1
title Age at type 1 diabetes onset does not influence attained brain volume
title_full Age at type 1 diabetes onset does not influence attained brain volume
title_fullStr Age at type 1 diabetes onset does not influence attained brain volume
title_full_unstemmed Age at type 1 diabetes onset does not influence attained brain volume
title_short Age at type 1 diabetes onset does not influence attained brain volume
title_sort age at type 1 diabetes onset does not influence attained brain volume
topic Age of onset
Brain
Gray matter
White matter
Magnetic resonance imaging
Diabetes mellitus, type 1
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s12902-025-01868-6
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