Diabetes and Hispanic American Youth.

The journal Diabetes Care released results from the SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth study, the largest surveillance effort conducted in the U.S. to date of youth with diabetes under the age of 20 years. Included in the series of articles appearing in the March supplement of Diabetes Care is the article “Diabetes in Hispanic American Youth,” lead-authored by Jean Lawrence, ScD, Research Scientist and Epidemiologist in the Department of Research and Evaluation at Kaiser Permanente Southern California.

The series presents a comprehensive picture of diabetes in children and adolescents from five ethnic and racial groups in the United States, including African-American, American Indian/Navajo Nation, Asian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic, and non-Hispanic white. The articles provide unique information about the burden of type 1 and type 2 diabetes in youth from public health and clinical perspectives, and describe important aspects of the epidemiologic, metabolic, behavioral, and quality of care issues in youth with diabetes.

“We found that type 1 diabetes is more common than type 2 diabetes in Hispanic American youth of all ages,” said Dr. Lawrence, principal investigator for the study at Kaiser Permanente Southern California. “However, in youth ages 15-19 the incidence of type 2 diabetes is higher than that of type 1 diabetes in girls but not boys. We also found that over a third of the youth in this oldest age group with either type 1 or type 2 diabetes had poor glycemic control, which increases their risk for future diabetes-related complications.”

Those who develop diabetes in childhood are at increased risk for complications like kidney failure, sight-threatening retinopathy, or premature cardiovascular diseases due to the longer duration of the disease compared with persons who develop diabetes as adults.

Some key findings from diabetic youth from other ethnic and racial groups studied by SEARCH include:

* About 50 percent of African-American youth age 15 years or older have poorly controlled blood sugar, which is a major risk factor for long-term, serious complications.
* Asian and Pacific Islander youth, particularly adolescents, have a high risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes: 1 in about 8,200 youth develops type 2 diabetes annually.
* Navajo youth have the greatest risk of type 2 diabetes: 1 in 2,542 develop diabetes annually. Navajo youth with diabetes have poor glycemic control and evidence of severe depression.
* The incidence rate of type 1 diabetes among U.S. non-Hispanic white youth is today one of the highest in the world: 1 in about 4,200 youth develops type 1 diabetes annually This rate is higher than all previously reported U.S. studies and many European studies. Type 2 diabetes is relatively rare in non-Hispanic white youth, but incidence rates are still several-fold higher than those reported by European countries.

“Continuing this surveillance effort is essential to document the future burden of diabetes and its complications on our youth, their families, and the health care system,” said Dr. Lawrence. “These studies also help emphasize the need for continued focus on managing diabetes and preventing its complications.”

For more information at http://www.kaiserpermanente.org>