An online tool using clinical factors to estimate the probability of partial clinical remission of adult-onset Type 1 diabetes

A type 1 diabetes (T1D) diagnosis is often followed by a period of reduced exogenous insulin requirement, with acceptable glucose control, called partial clinical remission (pCR). Various criteria exist to define pCR, which is associated with better clinical outcomes.

We aimed to develop formulae and a related online calculator to predict the probability of pCR at 3- and 12-months post-T1D diagnosis.

We analysed data from 133 adults at their T1D diagnosis (mean ± SD age: 27 ± 6 yrs., HbA1c 11.1 ± 2.0 %, 98 ± 22 mmol/mol), 3- and 12-months later. All patients were enrolled in the prospective observational InLipoDiab1 study (NCT02306005). We compared four definitions of pCR: 1) stimulated C-peptide >300 pmol/l; 2) insulin dose-adjusted HbA1c ≤9 %; 3) insulin dose <0.3 IU/kg/24 h; and HbA1c ≤6.4 % (46 mmol/mol); and 4) insulin dose <0.5 IU/kg/24 h and HbA1c <7 % (53 mmol/mol). Using readily available demographics and clinical chemistry data exhaustive search methodology was used to model pCR probability.

There was low concordance between pCR definitions (kappa 0.10). The combination of age, HbA1c, diastolic blood pressure, triglycerides and smoking at T1D onset predicted pCR at 12-months with an area under the curve (AUC) = 0.87. HbA1c, triglycerides and insulin dose 3-mths post-diagnosis had an AUC = 0.89. A related calculator for pCR in adult-onset T1D is available at http://www.bit.ly/T1D-partial-remission.