Washington (ISJ): People with type2 diabetes diagnosed during youth have a high risk of developing complications at early ages and have a greater chance of multiple complications within 15 years after diagnosis. The findings are the culmination of a first-of-its-kind clinical trial in the United States.
Within 15 years of a type2 diabetes diagnosis, 60 percent of participants had at least one diabetes-related complication, and nearly a third of participants had two or more complications, according to results of the Treatment Options for Type 2 Diabetes in Adolescents and Youth (TODAY) published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
“The original TODAY study showed that youth-onset type2 diabetes is distinct from adult-onset diabetes – it is both more aggressive and more difficult to control,” said Dr. Barbara Linder, project scientist for TODAY at National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), part of the US National Institutes of Health. “By following this unique disease course, TODAY2 shows the devastating complications that can develop in what should be the prime of these young people’s lives.”
The study involved 500 original participants, which began in 2004. TODAY was the first major comparative effectiveness trial for the treatment of type2 diabetes in youth. The study compared three treatments for managing blood glucose: metformin alone, metformin plus rosiglitazone, and metformin plus an intensive lifestyle intervention. Metformin is the only oral medication approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat type2 diabetes in youth.
At the time of enrolment, participants were between the ages of 10-17, had been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes for fewer than two years, and were overweight or had obesity. The average age of participants after the TODAY2 follow-up was 26 years.
Participants in TODAY2 were monitored annually for signs of diabetes complications, including heart disease, kidney disease, diabetic foot complications, and to report other health events. Diabetic eye disease was assessed once during the study, at the seven-year study visit.
With a high population of about 65 percent in India, youth are at high risk of increasing burden of diabetes and associated complications. The evolving lifestyle not only affects their health but mounting monetary burden on the nation.
A study by multiple research organisations revealed, the Indian Diabetes Risk Score (IDRS) was as high as 56.7 percent amongst young adults below 35, 31.1 percent among those between 30-50 years of age and 10.2 percent for population above 60 years of age.
Source: NIH
Image: Wikimedia Commons
