Prevalence of impaired glucose tolerance among obese teenagers

ABSTRACT

Obesity has been accompanied by an increase in the prevalence of type-2 diabetes among adolescents. We determined the prevalence of impaired glucose tolerance in a cohort of 100 obese teenagers. Department of Medicine, BV Hospital, Bahawalpur. From January 2005 to January 2007. All subjects underwent a two-hour oral glucose-tolerance test [1.75 mg of glucose per kilogram of body weight], and glucose levels were measured fasting and during the first 30 minutes after the ingestion of glucose. Impaired glucose tolerance was detected in 21 percent of the 100 obese adolescents [11 to 19 years of age]; silent type-2 diabetes was identified in 4 percent of the obese adolescents. After the body-mass index had been controlled for, insulin resistance was greater in the affected cohort and was the best predictor of impaired glucose tolerance. Impaired glucose tolerance is highly prevalent among adolescents with severe obesity, irrespective of ethnic group. Impaired oral glucose tolerance was probably associated with insulin resistance