Question from King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, USA:

My 15 year old son has had type 1 diabetes since he was six. Over that time, he has maintained excellent control of his blood glucose and has never had an A1c higher then 7.3. He is an otherwise healthy child and plays high school soccer and lacrosse. Within the last two months, he has experienced two episodes of bronchitis and was on antibiotic and inhaler treatments until they subsided. On the last visit to the pediatrician, she mentioned that since he had two episodes within two months, she thought that he was getting it too often. Could this have anything to do with his diabetes? Is there any statistical data suggesting that type 1 diabetics are more susceptible to pulmonary infections? Do I need to be worried about other complications or does the bronchitis have really nothing to do with his diabetes?