SUNDAY, June 15 (HealthDay News) -- The current standard
screening test for prediabetes in children often fails to detect
the condition, Canadian researchers contend.
Ironically, the findings are from a study group of 172 obese
children -- ages 5 to 17 -- who joined a program to help them slim
down to a healthy weight.
The standard diabetes test for children is the fasting plasma
(blood) glucose test, but it identified almost three times fewer
children with diabetes than the glucose stress test, also called
the oral glucose tolerance test. The glucose stress test takes
longer, because blood is taken from the patient after fasting and
again two hours after drinking a sugary solution.
Using the fasting blood glucose test, the researchers found that
only 8 percent of the children in the study met the diagnostic
criteria for prediabetes. But the glucose stress test indicated
that 25 percent of the children had prediabetes.
"A large proportion of the children with prediabetes would not
have had their condition recognized," lead author Dr. Katherine
Morrison, of the pediatrics department at McMaster University in
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, said in a prepared statement.
The researchers also found the fasting blood glucose test
identified metabolic syndrome in only 5.2 percent of the children,
while the glucose stress test detected metabolic syndrome in 12.8
percent of the children. Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of risk
factors (including high blood sugar) for diabetes and heart
disease.
The findings were expected to be presented over the weekend at
the Endocrine Society's annual meeting in San Francisco.
"Prediabetes and metabolic syndrome are common in obese children
but are not readily identified with the currently recommended test.
They require a glucose stress test," Morrison said.
Prediabetes and metabolic syndrome often cause no obvious
symptoms, she added. Early detection is important, because changes
in diet, regular exercise and moderate weight loss can help prevent
or delay diabetes and metabolic syndrome.
Added time, inconvenience and cost are among the reasons why the
glucose stress test isn't typically used in children.
"But this research suggests that the recommended test for
screening obese children for prediabetes and metabolic syndrome
should be changed," Morrison said.
More information
The U.S. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney
Diseases has more about
insulin resistance and prediabetes.
