In obese patients, islet cell autoimmunity testing should be considered. If this is not practical, or if the patient has acanthosis nigricans, the diagnosis can usually be clarified during the first several months by reducing and, if glycemic goals obtained, stopping acutely required insulin, with weight reduction, exercise, and, as necessary, oral hypoglycemic therapy.
Insidious Onset
Obese individuals who are not African American or who are African American but do not have a three-generation history of early-onset diabetes in a dominant pattern can be considered to have type 2 diabetes.
Islet autoantibody testing will be helpful in a lean patient. The presence of antibodies indicates type 1 diabetes picked up early; the absence of antibodies may indicate MODY.
Because MODY is rare, routine testing for the various mutations that have been described is not of value.
Fasting C-peptide or insulin measurements, if insulin treatment has not been given, may be of value after stabilization; elevated levels are indicative of type 2 diabetes. Repeat testing at 1 year or later may be needed for individuals with normal results.
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C H A P T E R 3
Epidemiology of
Type 2 Diabetes and
Obesity in Children
EVIDENCE FOR AN EPIDEMIC OF TYPE 2
DIABETES IN CHILDREN (TABLES 9–11)
North America
In the Pima Indian population, in which 50% of adults have type 2 diabetes
in 1979, prevalence of type 2 diabetes was
1% (9 of 1,000) of those age 15–24 years
nil in those younger than 15 years (1)
by the 1990s, type 2 diabetes prevalence was
5% of those 15–19 years old (51 of 1,000)
2.2% of those 10–14 years old (22 of 1,000) (2)
First Nation population in