Reasons behind AdDIT
Young people diagnosed with type 1 diabetes during childhood are at risk of long term complications including kidney, heart and circulatory disease which may reduce life expectancy by 10 – 15 years. This risk can be reduced by improving glycaemic control (HbA1c) but this can be difficult to achieve, particularly during adolescence. Long term complications may not appear until well into adulthood but puberty seems to be a “stress point” where signs of risk can start to develop.
In adults with type 1 diabetes, who are at higher risk of developing complications, blood pressure lowering drugs, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor, (ACE inhibitor) and blood fat (cholesterol) lowering drugs (Statins) are used more and more to prevent complications.
The AdDIT study was set up by research doctors in the UK, Australia and Canada to see if giving ACE inhibitors and/or Statins during adolescence would prevent or delay long-term complications in those young people, with type 1 diabetes, who appeared to be potentially at high risk.
Why we did it
The research team were looking for information to help make decisions about how best to treat young people with diabetes in the future.
It was hoped that AdDIT would provide:
- important data on the potential renal and cardiovascular protective effects of ACE inhibitor and/or statins in high-risk adolescents and would help to answer the question whether, in addition to strategies to achieve a good glycaemic control, additional interventions for cardio-renal protection should also be recommended in adolescents with type 1 diabetes.
- valuable information on tolerance and safety of treatment with ACE inhibitor and statins, as well as data on compliance and potential health economics benefits.