University Of Southern California Study Shows Persistence Of Metabolic Syndrome May Predict Type 2 Diabetes In Obese Hispanic Teenagers

Main Category: Diabetes
Also Included In: Obesity / Weight Loss / Fitness
Article Date: 02 Sep 2009 - 2:00 PDT

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A study by researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC) found that obese Hispanic teenagers with persistent metabolic syndrome had progressively increasing risk of developing type 2 diabetes over time.

The research is the first to show that obese Hispanic youth with persistent metabolic syndrome, a combination of symptoms including insulin resistance and excess fat around the waist, are at progressively higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The study has been published in the Journal of Pediatrics.

A research team led by Michael I. Goran, Ph.D., professor of preventive medicine and physiology and biophysics and director of the Childhood Obesity Research Center at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, studied a cohort of 73 overweight Hispanic children over a period of three years. Patients who tested positive for metabolic syndrome over three annual visits were classified "persistent" for metabolic syndrome. These patients gained body fat more quickly and had increased insulin resistance and a worsening of pancreatic beta cell function, which means they were unable to process insulin appropriately.

"This study shows that, for Hispanics, having metabolic syndrome in childhood is a good predictor of increasing risk for type 2 diabetes," said Goran. "Yearly testing of Hispanic youth for metabolic syndrome - an inexpensive test - can help physicians determine if their young patients are heading toward type 2 diabetes in the future."

Previous studies did not include evaluations of insulin resistance and beta cell function, or assessed patients over a two-year period. In the new study, subjects were classified as negative for metabolic syndrome, intermittent (positive at one or two visits) or persistent (positive at all three visits).

Those in the persistent group - 14 subjects - showed a steady increase in insulin resistance with each visit. The persistent group maintained 43 percent lower insulin resistance and by the second visit, had a 25 percent lower beta cell function when compared to those who were negative for metabolic syndrome.

Source
University of Southern California

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