Risk Factors for Medication-Induced Diabetes and Type 2 Diabetes

ObjectiveTo compare the prevalence of risk factors in children aged <18 years diagnosed with medication-induced diabetes mellitus versus those diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.Study designThis retrospective observational study used data from a Canadian prospective surveillance study in which clinical features of new cases of type 2 diabetes (n = 225) and medication-induced diabetes (n = 58) were reported over a 2-year period. The presence of risk factors for type 2 diabetes (eg, obesity, family history of type 2 diabetes, ethnicity, acanthosis nigricans, hypertension, polycystic ovarian syndrome) was compared in the 2 groups using descriptive statistics and logistic regression.ResultsCompared with the children with type 2 diabetes, the children with medication-induced diabetes were more likely to be Caucasian (P < .0001) and less likely to be obese (P < .0001), to have a positive family history of type 2 diabetes (P = .0001), to have acanthosis nigricans (P < .0001) on clinical examination, and to have an obesity-related comorbidity, such as polycystic ovarian syndrome (P = .04), dyslipidemia (P = .02), hypertension (P = .04), or an elevated alanine aminotransferase level (P = .05).ConclusionsEvaluating for the typical risk factors for type 2 diabetes is not sufficient to identify all children at risk for developing medication-induced diabetes. Further studies are needed to help inform guidelines on screening for and prevention of medication-induced diabetes in children.