The 'accelerator hypothesis' : relationship between weight, height, body mass index and age at diagnosis in a large cohort of 9,248 German and Austrian children with type 1 diabetes mellitus

The aim of this study was to investigate whether either increased weight or BMI are associated with the earlier manifestation of type 1 diabetes mellitus in children. We evaluated anthropometric measurements in a large cohort of 9,248 patients of European extraction who were diagnosed in the years 1990-2003 in 116 pediatric clinics throughout Germany and Austria. Patients were divided into four groups according to age (0-4.9 years, 5-9.9 years, 10-14.9 years and 15-20 years). Significantly higher standard deviation scores (SDSs) for weight and BMI at diabetes onset were found for both boys and girls in the three younger age groups (up to 14.9 years of age) compared with the reference population (p