Is it increasing in Argentina?

Abstract

Type 2 diabetes was considered an adult pathology. Currently, perhaps as a result of the obesity epidemic, physical inactivity and sedentary habits seem to be increasing worldwide at increasingly younger ages.

The 2nd National Nutrition and Health Survey (ENNYS 2018) made it clear that in our country 41% of children and adolescents (NNyA) between 5 and 17 years old were overweight (prevalence of overweight 20.7% and obesity 20.4%). At the same time, the 2019 global physical inactivity survey indicates that 81% of children between 11 and 17 years of age do not meet the daily physical activity requirements recommended by WHO, while the latest global school health survey showed that more than 55% of adolescents had sedentary habits. Recent publications indicate that the highest prevalence rates of type 2 diabetes in young people were found in Brazil (33 per 1,000), Mexico (4 per 1,000), populations originating from the US and Canada, and the African-American population in the US. . While the lowest were reported in Denmark (0.6 per 100,000) and England and Wales (2.9 per 100,000).

 In Argentina we do not have a record of the prevalence of T2D in children and adolescents, but the data emerging from pediatric reference centers seem to indicate an increasing trend. The form of presentation of type 2 diabetes in this population is very broad, from severe decompensations in ketocyacidosis to compensated forms diagnosed by an OGTT. Sometimes these patients already present complications and/or comorbidities at the time of diagnosis. Compared to adults with type 2 diabetes, young people have a more adverse glycemic trajectory Personal and family risk factors are usually present in the pediatric population. It is important to identify children and adolescents with these risk factors early in order to carry out a prevention intervention or early detection and treatment. The presence of comorbidities and/or complications at diagnosis could negatively impact the prognosis as well as affect the quality of life of these patients.