My eight year old son has had type 1 diabetes for three years, and his body development has been slow since then. Is this because of the diabetes or is it something that we are doing wrong?

Type�1 diabetes itself might have affected your son’s body development if his metabolic control has been poor enough since the onset of the disease. Children in very poor metabolic control can develop a syndrome of short stature called Mauriac Syndrome which is quite rare in this day and age. If your son has had reasonable blood glucose control. I’d ask his doctor for a referral to a pediatric endocrinologist to evaluate his developmental problem.

MS

[Editor’s comment: One common reason for slow growth and development is hypothyroidism. It’s easy to test for, so be sure to ask your son’s doctor whether thyroid testing has been done.

WWQ]