Prediabetes: An emerging public health concern in adolescents

OBJECTIVES: To identify the presence of risk factors for type 2 diabetes (ethnicity, body mass index, blood glucose tolerance and blood pressure) and to determine the prevalence of prediabetes and type 2 diabetes in Canadian adolescents attending two multicultural urban high schools. METHODS: A total of 266 multicultural urban high school students who live in a mid‐sized Western Canadian city, aged 14‐21, were screened for risk factors of prediabetes and type 2 diabetes in March‐April 2018. Data with respect to demographics, family history of diabetes, anthropometrics, blood pressure and haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) were collected. Data analysis was done using descriptive and inferential statistics in addition to chi‐square analyses. RESULTS: Based on body mass index, 38% of the adolescents were classified as either overweight or obese. Overweight rates for females (69.8%) were double than males (30.2%); however, males (52.2%) were more likely to obese than the females (47.8%). Based on HbA1c levels, 29.3% were at high risk to develop either diabetes or prediabetes and 2.6% were classified in the prediabetes range. Prehypertension/hypertension rates of 47% in the sample increased to 51% in those adolescents with elevated HbA1c; the majority of these prehypertensive/hypertensive participants were male. CONCLUSION: High rates of overweight/obesity and prehypertension/hypertension were found in the adolescents studied and indicated the presence of prediabetes and an increased risk to develop type 2 diabetes and associated complications. Obesity and hypertension are major risk factors for developing type 2 diabetes, resulting in earlier exposure to metabolic consequences and, ultimately, long‐term complications. Thus, timely research is needed to identify age‐appropriate strategies that address risks and to develop recommendations for routine screening of adolescents for prediabetes.