Skin autofluorescence in people with type 1 diabetes and people without diabetes: An eight-decade cross-sectional study with evidence of accelerated aging and associations with complications

Abstract

AIM: To measure skin autofluorescence in youth (<18 y.o.) and adults (≥18 y.o.) and to assess its relationship with type 1 diabetes, chronic complications and smoking. METHODS: In a cross-sectional study (n = 383) skin autofluorescence was measured in 269 people with type 1 diabetes (67 with vascular complications) and 114 people without diabetes, covering eight decades of age. Associations of skin autofluorescence with demographics and traditional risk factors were assessed. RESULTS: Skin autofluorescence increased with age in people with diabetes: for those with complications it increased by a mean ± se of 0.029 ± 0.003 arbitrary units per year (r = 0.76) and, for those without complicatio..