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The epidemiology, clinical, biochemical, immunological and radiological features of youth onset type 2 diabetes mellitus in the state of Qatar

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Abstract

Objectives

To describe the epidemiology, clinical, biochemical, immunological and radiological aspects of youth with type 2 diabetes.

Methods

Patients under 18 year of age with type 2 diabetes were recruited from 2018 to 2020, clinical data collected, autoantibodies (GAD65, IAA, IA2 and ZnT8), insulin, ALT and c-peptide were measured. Hepatic ultrasound was performed for assessment of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

Results

104 patients were identified. The incidence in 2020 and prevalence per 100,000 was 2.51 and 23.7, respectively. The age of onset was between 8.5 and 18 years with 74% of the patients being of Qatari nationality. Males were more affected than females (1.5/1). Overweight/obesity was present in 98% of all the patients, a positive family history (either both parents or a single parent) in 71% and maternal gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) in 60% of patients. More than 90% of the patients had acanthosis nigricans. 5 patients had 1 autoantibody positivity and hepatic ultrasound detected evidence of NAFLD in majority of patients.

Conclusion

Obesity, maternal GDM and family history of diabetes were the key risk factors for the development of type 2 diabetes. Autoantibody positivity may be present in youth type 2 diabetes. As youth type 2 diabetes is associated with early onset microvascular and macrovascular complications, these findings have important social and health budget implications for Qatar. Tackling the burden of maternal GDM and childhood obesity and building programmes for early detection and intervention, are therefore, essential to reduce the risk of future complications.

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Data availability

Restrictions apply to the availability of some or all data generated or analysed during this study to preserve patient confidentiality. The corresponding author will on request detail the restrictions and any conditions under which access to some data may be provided.

Abbreviations

GAD65:

Glutamic acid decarboxylase 65

IAA:

Insulin autoantibody

IA2:

Islet antigen-2 auto antibody

ZnT8:

Zinc transporter 8

NAFLD:

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

GDM:

Gestational diabetes mellitus

CI:

Confidence interval

TG:

Triglyceride

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Funding

This research was supported by the Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF-NPRP 10–6100017-AXX) awarded to Professor Khalid Hussain.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Shayma M. Ahmed and Basma Haris are joint first authors.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Endocrinology, Department of Pediatrics, Sidra Medicine, Doha, Qatar

    Shayma M. Ahmed, Basma Haris, Saras Saraswathi, Ahmed Elawwa, Amal Khalifa, Maryam AlMaadheed, Tasneem R. Abdel-Karim, Noor Hamed, Houda Afyouni, Hajar Dauleh, Ahmed Shamekh, Mahmoud Al-Zyoud, Fawziya AlKhalaf, Goran Petrovski & Khalid Hussain

  2. Division of Endocrinology, Department of Pediatric Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, Al Luqta Street, Education City North Campus, PO Box 26999, Doha, Qatar

    Khalid Hussain

  3. University College London, London, UK

    Khalid Hussain

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  1. Shayma M. Ahmed
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Contributions

SMA, BH, KH drafted the manuscript, SMA and BH recruited the patients, collected, analysed and interpreted data, KH designed the study, obtained funding, reviewed and edited the manuscript SS, AE, AK, NH, HA, TRA, HD, MA, MA, AS, FA, GP collected patient information, reviewed the manuscript. The guarantor for this project is Professor Khalid Hussain and takes responsibility for the integrity of the data presented.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Khalid Hussain.

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Conflict of interest

All authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Human and animal rights

This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) for the protection of human subjects in Sidra Medicine, Qatar. Approval number 1702007592, approved on 03–10-2017. All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation and/or with the Helsinki Declaration of 1964 and later versions.

Informed consent

Informed consent or substitute for it was obtained from all patients for being included in the study.

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Ahmed, S.M., Haris, B., Saraswathi, S. et al. The epidemiology, clinical, biochemical, immunological and radiological features of youth onset type 2 diabetes mellitus in the state of Qatar. Diabetol Int 13, 381–386 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13340-021-00548-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13340-021-00548-9

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