Child Diabetes Testing Missing the Mark

Ivanhoe Newswire
Thursday, June 19, 2008; 4:15 AM

By Kirsten Houmann, Ivanhoe Health Correspondent

ORLANDO, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- If your child has been screened for diabetes, you may want to consider doing it again.

In a recent study, the standard screening test for high blood sugar in children identified nearly three times fewer the children with prediabetes than a longer blood test. The standard test, called the fasting plasma glucose test, is more popular because it only requires drawing blood once. The lengthier and less popular glucose stress test involves drawing blood twice -- once after fasting, and again two hours after drinking a sugary solution. The American Diabetes Association recommends each test on its own as a sufficient indicator of prediabetes, a strong risk factor for the development of type 2 diabetes.

"The findings raise questions about what the appropriate test should be in children," Katherine Morrison, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics at McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, and lead author of the study, told Ivanhoe. "They [also] raise questions about what age you should start screening at."

Researchers evaluated 172 obese children for diabetes, prediabetes, and metabolic syndrome risk factors. Using the non-standard diabetes test, they found 25 percent of the children met the criteria for prediabetes. Using the standard test, they found only 8 percent of the children had prediabetes. In addition, the non-standard test diagnosed 12.8 percent of the children with metabolic syndrome, while the standard test only diagnosed 5.2 percent of them with the condition. Metabolic syndrome is often called "insulin-resistance syndrome" and is linked to the development of diabetes, Dr. Morrison explained.

SOURCE: Ivanhoe interview with Katherine Morrison, M.D.; presented at The Endocrine Society's 90th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, Calif., on June 15, 2008

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