Increased prevalence of abnormal glucose tolerance among obese siblings of children with type 2 diabetes.
OBJECTIVE
To test the hypothesis that overweight siblings of children with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) have a higher prevalence of abnormal glucose tolerance (AGT) compared with other overweight children.


METHODS
This was a cross-sectional study of overweight (body mass index [BMI] >or= 95(th) percentile) subjects, age 8 to 17 years, with at least 1 sibling age >or= 12 years. The primary outcome was AGT, as assessed by the oral glucose tolerance test (2-hour glucose >or= 140 mg/dL). The secondary outcome was insulin resistance by homeostasis model assessment (HOMA).


RESULTS
The sibling (n=20) and control (n=42) groups were similar in terms of age, sex, racial distribution (largely African American), pubertal status, and BMI. The prevalence of AGT in the sibling group was 40.0% (n=8), compared with 14.3% (n=6) in controls (P= .048, Fisher exact test; unadjusted odds ratio=4.0; 95% confidence interval=1.2 to 13.5). Univariate analysis did not identify confounders for either outcome. There were no significant differences in HOMA or hemoglobin A1c between the 2 groups.


CONCLUSIONS
Overweight siblings of children with T2DM had 4 times greater odds of having AGT compared with other overweight children. This group may represent a particularly high-risk population to target for screening and pediatric T2DM prevention.
Magge
Sheela N
SN
Division of Endocrinology and Diabetes, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. magge@email.chop.edu
Stettler
Nicolas
N
Jawad
Abbas F
AF
Levitt Katz
Lorraine E
LE
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005192:Family Health; D005260:Female; D005951:Glucose Tolerance Test; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology*; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015143:Philadelphia / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D035781:Siblings