Diabetes in Kids Huge Study Planned

Main Category: Diabetes
Article Date: 15 Mar 2004 - 0:00 PDT

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There is a plan in the US for a 5-year nationwide study on how to treat children's type 2 diabetes more effectively. More and more kids in the USA are developing type 2 diabetes.

Dr. Morey Haymond, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA, said that blacks and Hispanics are more susceptible to type 2 diabetes. He is leading the Houston end of this study.

Haymond said 'In our community, this is a huge problem. There have been no studies to look at what forms of therapy are effective in treating children with type 2 diabetes.'

It is not typical for someone under the age of 40 to get type 2 diabetes. It can happen in kids if they are very overweight. In the USA the average age of kids who are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes is 13.

Doctors have to decide how to treat these kids with type 2 diabetes. Do they issue drugs, suggest lifestyle changes, both - and if both, how much of one and how much of the other?

Houston has a serious problem of juvenile diabetes type 2, and it is rising. In 1995 only 5% of diabetic kids were type 2. In 2003 that figure jumped to 31%.

These figures indicate that kids in Houston are getting fatter and doing less exercise.

Baylor College of Medicine will receive $5-$7 million in federal money for participating in the study. In Houston 150 kids will be monitored. The total number of kids to take part in this study in the whole of the USA will be 750.

The kids in the study will be split into three groups. They will all have their blood-glucose levels monitored.

Group 1 will take metformin.

Group 2 will take metfromin and rosiglitazone

Group 3 will take metformin + lose 7-10% of body weight + do more exercise

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