Progress in understanding youth-onset type 2 diabetes in the United States: recent lessons from clinical trials

Abstract

Background: Due to the dramatic increase in the rates of childhood obesity and youth-onset type 2 diabetes (T2D) in the late 1990s in the United States, the US government, through the National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive Disease, and Kidney (NIDDK) and the Centers for Disease Control, funded a series of large studies and trials which, together, have formed the basis for much of what we currently understand about youth-onset T2D.

Data sources: The review focus on the recent results and implications of the treatment options for Type 2 Diabetes in Adolescents and Youth (TODAY) study and the Restoring Insulin Secretion (RISE) study.

Results and conclusions: Both TODAY and RISE studies have provided critical insight into the unique aspects of the pathophysiology of youth-onset type 2 diabetes and also provided the evidence base for our current approach to the management of this disorder.

Keywords: Insulin resistance; Insulin sensitivity; Obesity; Type 2 diabetes.