Managing Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Adolescent- Case Report

Introduction: The incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in adolescents has increased in the last few decades and childhood obesity turns out to be the most important risk factor. The incidence varies between 0.5 to 1.0 in the age group of 10-19 years per 1000 individuals. Case Report: Master XX, 14 years old boy presented with complaints of increased thirst for around 2 weeks. He was having high blood sugar on random blood glucose testing. On investigation HbA1c was high. Patient was managed on insulin till hospital stay. On follow up other forms of diabetes were ruled out after thorough investigations and type 2 diabetes was confirmed. The patient was started on Metformin and long-acting insulin for further management along with counselling for diet and exercise. Discussion: Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease almost exclusively found in adults, except for a few cases of in young population. Managing the patient is a challenge as during initial encounter it is difficult to classify into other causes of diabetes apart from type 1 due to its prevalence in young population. Conclusion: This case affirms the rising presence of type 2 diabetes mellitus in young population and asserts on the need of hour to control childhood obesity. It also asserts for need of a uniform algorithm for diagnosis of diabetes subtype in young population.