Two tests for diagnosing diabetes in overweight children recommended

Scientists at Children’s Mercy Hospital and Clinics in the United States have argued that the usual blood test for diagnosing type 2 diabetes in overweight children is insufficient and recommend that it is backed up by an oral glucose tolerance test .
The research, recently presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies Annual Meeting, assessed the data on 629 overweight and adolescent patients who had received both tests, finding that the recommended haemoglobin A1C test was not properly diagnosing type 2 diabetes in over two thirds of overweight children being tested .
It was shown that 40 per cent of patients with type 2 diabetes and 67 per cent of high-risk patients diagnosed using the oral glucose tolerance test would have exhibited a normal glycaemic status if just the haemoglobin A1C test were used for diagnosis .
The team stated that carrying out both tests could lower the risk of delayed diagnosis in overweight children. Using a haemoglobin A1C test for screening for diabetes is the easier test, as it does not need the patient to fast for a long while before the test.
Ghufran Babar, lead researcher and a pediatric endocrinologist at the hospital, commented “Our research indicates that special consideration may need to be given to overweight children being tested for diabetes. Simply following the guidelines may not be enough to ensure these children get proper care.”