title: Presence of type 2 diabetes risk factors in children.
abstract: This study aimed to identify the prevalence of type 2 diabetes risk factors among elementary school-age children and determine eligibility for type 2 diabetes screening. A cross-sectional review of 971 school-based health clinic medical records of children in grades 1 through 5 was conducted. Relationships of risk factors associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus were examined to determine the prevalence of these risk factors in elementary school-age children. Screening guidelines for type 2 diabetes were applied to determine the prevalence of students meeting criteria for further screening. Almost 40% of the students had a body mass index (BMI) above the 85th percentile for age and gender. Forty-nine percent of the students belonged to a high-risk ethnic group. Acanthosis nigricans, an indicator of insulin resistance, was identified in nearly 27% of the student records. Forty-eight percent of the records identified the student as having a family history of diabetes. Significant correlations were found between the presence of acanthosis nigricans, high BMI, and a family history of diabetes. According to screening guidelines for type 2 diabetes in children, 39.3% of the elementary school children 10 years of age and older were eligible for type 2 diabetes screening. Almost 40% of children younger than 10 years of age had risk factors associated with screening criteria. These findings support the need for early detection of high-risk children and intervention strategies to decrease modifiable risk factors in elementary school-age children. The school nurse is in a pivotal role of identifying such at-risk students during annual, routine health screening practices.
authors.affiliation: University of Kentucky, College of Nursing, Lexington, KY, USA.
authors.forename: Leslie K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Scott
mesh_terms: D000052:Acanthosis Nigricans; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D007629:Kentucky / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000451:nursing*; D024802:Nurse's Role; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012573:School Nursing / Q000379:methods*