[Results of a population study of non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus in childhood and adolescence]. / Ergebnisse einer Populationsstudie über den nicht-insulinabhängigen Diabetes mellitus im Kindes- und Jugendalter.

ABSTRACT

Among 40 927 diabetics centrally registered in the Erfurt district, 61 non-insulin-dependent diabetics (0.15%) in early life have been recorded. The age of onset of 58 examined patients (36 males, 22 females) was 10 to 24 years. The insulin secretion after a 50 g oral glucose load varied markedly and corresponded to a control group of 62 adult NIDDM patients. 76.4% of the patients had a diabetic parent. In 17 patients (30%) diabetes had been transmitted through at least three generations. Sporadic occurrence was found in 19% of the case material. Families of MASON type with a marked diabetes accumulation were observed in only 3 cases. In the HLA system (A, B and C locus) there were characteristic differences from insulin-dependent diabetics but no significant (Pcorr) differences in comparison to the normal population. Variations of heredity, as well as differences in body weight, insulin secretion and varying susceptibility to vascular complication suggest that NIDDM in early life is a heterogeneous disorder. Besides the early age of onset, the balanced sex ratio and the partly marked inheritance, most patients of this population study present the typical features of type 2 diabetes.