Nowadays, it is known that atherosclerosis is not a disease affecting elderly people but that it starts as early as in childhood. Children with diabetes mellitus are particularly prone to early development of atherosclerosis. It seems advisable to evaluate the behaviour of lipoprotein (a), apolipoprotein B (atherogenic factors), and apolipoprotein A-I in this group of patients as possible causal or preventive factors of the developing diabetic cardiomyopathy. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of the intensification of lipid metabolism disorders on systolic-diastolic parameters of heart ventricles in children and adolescents with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. The study was performed on 19 children and adolescents (11 boys and 8 girls) at the age of 8.4-18.5 (x=14.2) who have had insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus for 1.5 to 14 years (x=7.9 years). Control group consisted of 17 healthy children. All patients were subjected to full echocardiographic examination which measured the systolic-diastolic activity of both heart ventricles, and to examinations determining the presence of complications (including the subclinical ones). Additionally, patients had their lipid metabolism parameters defined, i.e.: Lp(a), apo A-I, apo B, triglycerides, cholesterol and its LDL and HDL fractions. Conclusions: 1. Children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus have higher concentration of Lp(a) and apolipoprotein B irrespective of the degree of diabetes control, which makes them prone to premature development of atherosclerosis.2. Lipid metabolism disorders do not have direct influence on the development of diabetic cardiomyopathy in young patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus.
key words: diabetic cardiomyopathy, type 1 diabetes, lipoprotein(a)

Keywords: Lipoprotein(a), Type 1 diabetes, diabetic cardiomyopathy