Clinical characteristics of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus among southwestern American Indian youths.

The clinical characteristics and presentation of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) among 22 youths, aged less than 20 years, of an American Indian tribe Tohono O'odham Nation in the southwestern United States were studied. Ten males and 12 females (7-20 years old) were identified with a 13.7-year mean age of onset of diabetes. Over 80% (18/22) of the patients were obese at diagnosis having a body mass index greater than the 95th percentile for their age and sex, and there was a strong family history of NIDDM; eight patients were born to mothers who had gestational diabetes, and 19 patients had at least one parent with NIDDM. At the time of diagnosis, plasma glucose levels ranged from 10.3 mmol/L to 33 mmol/L, with nearly 60% (13/22) of the patients having a glucose reading greater than 16.8 mmol/L. C-peptide levels were done on 10 patients, and these were in the normal to elevated range. Clinical management of the 22 patients varied. To control hyperglycaemia and symptoms, such as nocturia and polyuria, 14 patients were on oral hypoglycaemic medication, and five were on insulin therapy. Compliance with dietary management was very difficult for these patients as evidenced by the fact that only three patients were on dietary control for their diabetes. The cases described in this series demonstrate NIDDM in childhood and illustrate the importance of accurate classification of diabetes during childhood, particularly in children from populations at high risk for NIDDM.