Screening Copenhagen school children at risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus using random capillary blood glucose

Abstract

Our study shows a high prevalence of overweight adolescents in Copenhagen, especially in school areas with low socio-economic standard and in pupils with Turkish, Pakistani and Arab ethnicity. Only three out of the 10 pupils with the highest risk participated. New strategies to reach and motivate risk groups to follow health recommendations and new methods of screening should be developed.

Exploring the Prevalence of Undiagnosed Prediabetes, Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, and Risk Factors in Adolescents: A Systematic Review

“…The remaining 12 studies focused on adolescents who were at high-risk for developing prediabetes and T2D. Of these, two examined populations from low-income families (Adams & Lammon, 2007;Herder et al, 2007), three examined adolescents from high-risk ethnic groups (Gomez & Huffman, 2008;Grant et al, 2008;Spurr, Bally, Bullin, & Trinder, 2017), and seven examined adolescents identified as being high-risk based on their anthropometric measures (overweight/obese) (Amiri et al, 2015;Moadab, Kelishadi, Hashemipour, Amini, & Poursafa, 2010;Panamonta, Thamsiri, & Panamonta, 2010;Pearson, Brolos, Herner, Hansen, & Olsen, 2007;Prasad et al, 2016;Shah, Kublaoui, Oden, & White, 2009;Zhu, Zhang, Li, Xie, & Yang, 2013). Because the study designs were heterogeneous and cannot be compared, the results are presented thematically to ensure comprehensive description.…”

“…Fourteen studies reported measuring overweight and obesity with rates in the participants ranging from 14.64 to 76%. Seven of these studies used inclusion criteria for classifications of overweight and obese (Amiri et al, 2015;Moadab et al, 2010;Panamonta et al, 2010;Pearson et al, 2007;Prasad et al, 2016;Shah et al, 2009;Zhu et al, 2013); however, the procedures for measuring and calculating overweight/obesity were inconsistent across studies. The various guidelines used for overweight/obesity classification included the Center for Disease Control guidelines, adult body mass index (BMI) guidelines, international standards for child overweight and obesity, Chinese criteria (age and sex specific cut-off points to define overweight/obesity as recommended by a working group in China), and World Health Organization (WHO) standards.…”

“…Ethnicity was documented in six studies and all investigated adolescent groups who were high-risk, including African American (Adams & Lammon, 2007;Demmer et al, 2013;Lee et al, 2017), American Indigenous (Adams & Lammon, 2007), Hispanic (Adams & Lammon, 2007;Lee et al, 2017;Zvarova et al, 2013), Hispanic Black (Lee et al, 2017), Alaskan Native (Adams & Lammon, 2007), Pacific Islander (Adams & Lammon, 2007), Mexican American (Demmer et al, 2013), Arab (Pearson et al, 2007), Turkish (Pearson et al, 2007), Pakistani (Pearson et al, 2007), and Canadian Indigenous (Spurr et al, 2017). In one study, ethnic minorities were significantly more likely to be overweight and have a family history of T2D (Pearson et al, 2007). A study conducted in Mexico reported significant differences in the rates of T2D and prediabetes among young Mexicans as compared to youth from the United States (Zvarova et al, 2013).…”

“…Family history was examined in nine studies with 39 to 68% of the adolescent participants presenting with a familial history. Most of these studies simply reported prevalence rates; however, one reported that compared to ethnic Danish pupils, a family history of T2D was increased five-fold for ethnic Turkish and Arab adolescents and 13-fold for ethnic Pakistani youth (Pearson et al, 2007). Another study reported that T2D in a first-degree relative was significantly correlated with increased fasting blood glucose (FBG) levels and triglycerides (Amiri et al, 2015).…”

Overweight and obesity trends in Copenhagen schoolchildren from 2002 to 2007

“…There are consequences of this excess weight; a study of Copenhagen schoolchildren found that the higher their BMI in childhood, the greater their risk of coronary heart disease in adulthood (3). Furthermore, type 2 diabetes mellitus, which increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, has also been found in Copenhagen schoolchildren (4).…”