Type 2 diabetes in children: Clinical aspects and risk factors

Abstract

A strong link between obesity, insulin resistance, and metabolic syndrome has been reported with development of a new paradigm to type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), with some evidence suggesting that beta-cell dysfunction is present before the onset of impaired glucose tolerance. Differentiating type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) from T2DM is actually not very easy and there exists a number of overlapping characteristics. The autoantibody frequencies of seven antigens in T1DM patients may turn out to be actually having T2DM patients (pre-T2DM). T2DM patients generally have increased C-peptide levels (may be normal at time of diagnosis), usually no auto-antibodies, strong family history of diabetes, obese and show signs of insulin resistance (hypertension, acanthosis, PCOS). The American Academy of Paediatrics recommends lifestyle modifications ± metformin when blood glucose is 126-200 mg/dL and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) 200 mg/dL and HbA1c >8.5, with or without ketosis. Metformin is not recommended if the patient is ketotic, because this increases the risk of lactic acidosis. Metformin is currently the only oral hypoglycemic that has been approved for use in children. Knowing these subtle differences in mechanism, and knowing how to test patients for which mechanism (s) are causing their diabetes mellitus, may help us eventually tailor treatment programs on an individual basis.

Keywords

• Type 2 diabetes mellitus in children
• hemoglobin A1c
• metformin
• obesity