Trends of Diabetes and Prediabetes Prevalence Among Korean Adolescents From 2007 to 2018

Background: To provide updated prevalence data and to estimate changes in the prevalence of diabetes among Korean adolescents by sex and age between 2007 and 2018. Methods: We used the data of children and adolescents (8,718 subjects aged 10 to 18 years) from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey IV-VII (KNHANES 2007-2018). The recent prevalence of diabetes and pre-diabetes estimated by using the latest KNHANES VII. The linear trends were estimated by comparing 3-year KNHANES cycles according to sex and by using logistic regression. Results: The prevalence of diabetes and pre-diabetes was 0.298% (95% CI, 0.289-0.308) and 7.914% (95%CI, 0.43-0.49). The prevalence of diabetes was a significant increase from 0.189 to 0.430 during KNHANE IV and VII. A positive linear trend is significant for diabetes (p trends=0.006) in only male subjects. The prevalence of pre-diabetes was a significant increase from 5.86 to 12.08 in both sexes. During KNHANES IV and VII, the prevalence of obesity increased significantly. Conclusion: Between 2007 and 2018, the prevalence of diabetes among Korean adolescents increased. Further studies are required to determine the causes of these increases.