Detecting and Defending Type 2 Diabetes in Kids

New study sheds light on how to detect children at a high risk of developing type 2 diabetes and offers practical prevention strategies.

Methods for pinpointing children at heightened risk of type 2 diabetes have been underscored by a new study published in the new Journal of the Endocrine Society ().

Prediabetes is a health condition in which blood sugar levels are higher than normal, but not yet high enough to be diagnosed as type 2 diabetes.

Type 2 Diabetes
Globalization and changing lifestyles has made diabetes very common in developing countries so much so that India is known as the Diabetes Capital of the World.

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Prediabetes increases the risk of developing chronic kidney disease, heart disease, and stroke. Around 5%-10% of adults with prediabetes develop diabetes each year.

Over the past three decades, there has been a sharp increase in the incidence and prevalence of childhood obesity, prediabetes, and type 2 diabetes.

At least 1 in 5 adolescents are estimated to have prediabetes. It is not clear whether the adult definition of prediabetes is appropriate for children as fewer progress to diabetes during childhood.

Empowering Parents with Knowledge

“We found that higher levels on certain diabetes screening tests (non-fasting glucose and hemoglobin A1c) and worsening obesity may better predict diabetes risk in children,” said study author Ashley H. Shoemaker, M.D., M.S.C.I., of Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn.

Diabetes and Exercise
Regular exercise especially in type II diabetes not only helps reduce the sugar but also reduces the demand for medication by 20% and helps you stay healthy.

“This is a real-world study that highlights ways to identify the children at the highest risk for diabetes and possible strategies for diabetes prevention in children such as treatment with anti-diabetes or anti-obesity medications. Our study found patients who were on metformin had lower blood sugar levels and were slower to progress to diabetes.”

The researchers found that 6.5% of 552 pediatric patients with prediabetes developed type 2 diabetes over the 7 years of their study.

Diabetes - Essentials
Diabetes is a metabolic disease caused by insulin deficiency that leads to high blood sugar levels and several associated complications if left untreated.

They identified a few risk factors, including higher HbA1C and non-fasting glucose levels, and worsening obesity. The study found boys progressed more commonly and more quickly to type 2 diabetes than girls.

“Weight stabilization and metformin therapy could be important interventions for diabetes prevention in children,” Shoemaker said.

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Reference:

Risk Factors for Progression to Type 2 Diabetes in a Pediatric Prediabetes Clinic Population - (https://academic.oup.com/jes/article/7/11/bvad118/7300968?login=true)

Source-Eurekalert