Prepubertal girls with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus have higher exogenous insulin requirement than boys. Childhood Diabetes in Finland Study Group.

In a population based study, the prescribed insulin dose of 348 prepubertal children with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) was analysed 2 years after the diagnosis of diabetes. Girls had an insulin dose 13.6% higher than that in boys. When children younger than 5 years of age at diagnosis were analysed separately, the difference in insulin dose between boys and girls remained. The increased insulin dose in girls was not explained by possible differences in endogenous insulin secretion, body mass index, metabolic control or the number of daily insulin injections. Our observations indicate that prepubertal girls with IDDM have a poorer insulin sensitivity than boys.