posted 11/01/02
Focusing on children who are obese or who have a family
history of the disease appears to be a better way to identify kids at risk.
Testing adolescents across the board for type 2
diabetes may not offer much benefit, study findings indicate.
Health experts are concerned that more cases of
type 2 (non-insulin dependent) diabetes are being diagnosed in children and
adolescents, largely due to rising rates of obesity in this age group. This type
of diabetes was previously called adult-onset diabetes because it was rare in
children.
In the current study, lead investigator Dr. Wendy
J. Brickman of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, and colleagues
measured blood glucose levels in a group of 255 high school students after they
ate a meal. The group hoped to learn if general population screening would be an
effective way to identify kids at risk of type 2 diabetes.
None of the children had high blood glucose
levels, not even the obese kids.
However, Brickman noted that the students who had
glucose levels in the higher range of what is still considered normal tended to
be overweight or have a parent or sibling with diabetes.
"The findings speak against population screening of adolescents and children for type 2 diabetes," she added. "Limiting screening to high-risk individuals may better improve efficacy and feasibility."
Source: Diabetes In
Control Dot Com: Diabetes Care, Oct 2002
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