Is there an Escalation of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Children and Adolescents: Therapeutics and Preventive Approach

There is an increasing prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in children and adolescents from all over the world from various ethnicities, although the incidence of obesity is not increasing any more. Most of the young people having T2DM were found in specific ethnic subgroups such as African-American, Asian/Pacific Islanders, Hispanic and American Indians.T2DM in childhood presents with more frequent mild/asymptomatic manifestations. Hence one needs to screen in high risk group like obesity, relatives with T2DM, those with clinical features of insulin resistance (hypertension, dyslipidemia, PCOS, Acanthosis Nigerians). New drugs like dipeptidyl peptidase inhibitors or glucagon like peptide 1 mimetics are going to be soon available for treatment of youth having T2DM.But there is a high dropout of the medical care system of adolescents with T2DM, which suggests that management of children and adolescents with T2DM needs some changes in current health practices.