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OBJECTIVE. The objective of this study was to determine if depressed mood among youth with diabetes was associated with type and duration of diabetes, mean glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) level, and the frequency of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) and hypoglycemic episodes, hospitalizations, and emergency department (ED) visits. METHODS. A total of 2672 youth (aged 10-21 years) who had diabetes for a mean duration of 5 years completed a SEARCH study visit, in which their HbA1c was measured and information about their demographic characteristics, diabetes type and duration, and episodes of DKA, hypoglycemia, hospitalizations, and ED visits over the previous 6 months was collected. Their level of depressed mood was measured using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). RESULTS. Among these youth, 14% had mildly (CES-D 16-23) and 8.6% had moderately or severely (CES-D [is greater than or equal to] 24) depressed mood. Females had a higher mean CES-D score than males. After adjusting for demographic factors, and duration of diabetes, we found the prevalence of depressed mood to be higher among males with type 2 diabetes than those with type 1 diabetes and to be higher among females with comorbidities than those without comorbidities. Higher mean HbA1c and frequency of ED visits were associated with depressed mood. The prevalence of depressed mood among youth with diabetes was similar to that of published estimates of depressed mood among youth without diabetes. CONCLUSIONS. Physicians and other health care professionals should consider screening youth with diabetes for depressed mood in clinical settings, particularly youth with poor glycemic control, those with a history of frequent ED visits, males with type 2 diabetes, and females with comorbidities. Key Words adolescent depression, diabetes type 1, diabetes type 2, health service utilization Abbreviations HbA1c--mean glycosylated hemoglobin DKA--diabetic ketoacidosis ED--emergency department CES-D--Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression MODY--maturity-onset diabetes of youth CDC--Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ORs--odds ratios CIs--confidence intervals, DIABETES MELLITUS IS 1 of the 3 most prevalent chronic diseases among youth, with the majority of affected youth having type 1 diabetes. (1) Although numerous studies have shown an […]

Objective. Several studies have reported increases in the occurrence of type 2 diabetes in youths. People with prediabetic states such as impaired fasting glucose (IFG) are at increased risk for developing diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD). The objective of this study was to examine the prevalence of IFG and its relationship with overweight and CVD risk factors in a nationally representative sample of US adolescents who were aged 12 to 19 years. Methods. We used data from the 1999-2000 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Adolescents who had fasted for 8 hours or more were included in the study (n = 915). IFG was defined as a fasting glucose of 100 to 125 mg/dL. Participants were classified as overweight when their age- and gender-specific BMI was [greater than or equal to] 95th percentile and as at-risk for overweight when their BMI was [greater than or equal to] 85th and Results. In 1999-2000, the prevalence of IFG in US adolescents was 7.0% and was higher in boys than in girls (10.0% vs 4.0%). Prevalence of IFG was higher in overweight adolescents (17.8%) but was similar in those with normal weight and those who were at risk for overweight (5.4% vs 2.8%). The prevalence of IFG was significantly different across racial/ethnic groups (13.0%, 4.2%, and 7% in Mexican Americans, non-Hispanic black individuals, and non-Hispanic white individuals, respectively). Adolescents with IFG had significantly higher mean hemoglobin A1c, fasting insulin, total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, and systolic blood pressure and lower high-density lipoprotein cholesterol than those with normal fasting glucose concentrations. Conclusions. These data, representing 27 million US adolescents, reveal a very high prevalence of IFG (1 in 10 boys and 1 in 25 girls) among adolescents; the condition affects 1 in every 6 overweight adolescents. Adolescents with IFG have features of insulin resistance and worsened CVD risk factors. Evidence for prevention is still forthcoming in this age group. Pediatrics 2005;116:1122-1126; children and adolescents, hyperglycemia, obesity, prevalence, survey. ABBREVIATIONS. ADA, American Diabetes Association; IFG, impaired fasting glucose; IGT, impaired glucose tolerance; CVD, cardiovascular disease; NHANES, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey; FPG, fasting plasma glucose; Hb[A.sub.1c], hemoglobin A1c; CI, confidence interval., In both 1997 and 2004, experts who were assembled by the American Diabetes Association (ADA) identified people with prediabetes, defined as impaired fasting glucose (IFG) or impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), [...]

To the Editor.-- We read with great interest the article by Williams et al, (1) which revealed a very high prevalence (7%) of impaired fasting glucose (IFG) among US adolescents [...]

A response by Desmond E. Williams and colleagues to a letter to the editor about the prevalence of impaired fasting glucose among U.S. adolescents is presented.

Objective: Our goal was to estimate the prevalence of diabetes mellitus in youth <20 years of age in 2001 in the United States, according to age, gender, race/ethnicity, and diabetes type., Methods: The SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth Study is a 6-center observational study conducting population-based ascertainment of physician-diagnosed diabetes in youth. Census-based denominators for 4 geographically based centers and enrollment data for 2 health plan-based centers were used to calculate prevalence. Age-, gender-, and racial/ethnic group-specific prevalence rates were multiplied by US population counts to estimate the total number of US youth with diabetes., Results: We identified 6379 US youth with diabetes in 2001, in a population of approximately 3.5 million. Crude prevalence was estimated as 1.82 cases per 1000 youth, being much lower for youth 0 to 9 years of age (0.79 cases per 1000 youth) than for those 10 to 19 years of age (2.80 cases per 1000 youth). Non-Hispanic white youth had the highest prevalence (1.06 cases per 1000 youth) in the younger group. Among 10- to 19-year-old youth, black youth (3.22 cases per 1000 youth) and non-Hispanic white youth (3.18 cases per 1000 youth) had the highest rates, followed by American Indian youth (2.28 cases per 1000 youth), Hispanic youth (2.18 cases per 1000 youth), and Asian/Pacific Islander youth (1.34 cases per 1000 youth). Among younger children, type 1 diabetes accounted for > or = 80% of diabetes; among older youth, the proportion of type 2 diabetes ranged from 6% (0.19 cases per 1000 youth for non-Hispanic white youth) to 76% (1.74 cases per 1000 youth for American Indian youth). We estimated that 154,369 youth had physician-diagnosed diabetes in 2001 in the United States., Conclusions: The overall prevalence estimate for diabetes in children and adolescents was approximately 0.18%. Type 2 diabetes was found in all racial/ethnic groups but generally was less common than type 1, except in American Indian youth.