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. 2025 Sep 1;74(9):1635-1642.
doi: 10.2337/db25-0256.

Subclasses of Glucose Trajectories in Early Childhood Stratified the Risk of Abnormal Glucose Tolerance in Adolescence and Young Adulthood

Yingchai Zhang  1   2   3 , Eric S H Lau  1   2   3 , Claudia H T Tam  1   2   3 , Noel Y H Ng  1   2   3 , Mai Shi  1   2   3 , Atta Y T Tsang  1   2   3 , Hanbin Wu  4 , Aimin Yang  1   2   3 , Hongjiang Wu  1   2   3 , Lai Yuk Yuen  4 , Elaine Y K Chow  1   2   3 , Andrea O Y Luk  1   2   3 , Alice P S Kong  1   2   3 , Chi Chiu Wang  3   4 , Juliana C N Chan  1   2   3 , Wing Hung Tam  4   5 , Ronald C W Ma  1   2   3
Affiliations

Subclasses of Glucose Trajectories in Early Childhood Stratified the Risk of Abnormal Glucose Tolerance in Adolescence and Young Adulthood

Yingchai Zhang et al. Diabetes. .

Abstract

Abnormal glucose tolerance (AGT) in youth has become an alarming global public health issue; however, approaches to identify high-risk population among young people have not been well-established. Can the long-term risk of AGT be stratified by the subclasses of glucose trajectories defined in childhood? Subclasses defined in childhood can efficiently stratify the risk of AGT in adolescence and young adulthood. The subclass membership was strongly associated with cardiometabolic disorders in childhood and maternal cardiometabolic disorders during pregnancy. This subclass method provides a potential strategy to identify those at risk of later cardiometabolic disorders from childhood for more intensive evaluation of intervention. The close relationship between maternal cardiometabolic disorders and subclass membership of children highlighted the potential influence of gestational cardiometabolic health on the development of cardiometabolic disorders in offspring.

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Conflict of interest statement

Duality of Interest. J.C.N.C. received consultancy fees from AstraZeneca, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Celltrion, MSD, Pfizer, Servier, and Viatris Pharmaceutical; speaker fees from AstraZeneca, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, MSD, Merck, Sanofi, and Servier; and research grants through her institutions from Applied Therapeutics, AstraZeneca, Hua Medicine, Lee Powder, Eli Lilly, Merck, and Servier. A.P.S.K. received research grants from Abbott, AstraZeneca, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Eli Lilly, Kyowa Kirin, and Merck Serono, and honoraria for consultancy or giving lectures from Nestle, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, and Sanofi. E.Y.K.C. received speaker fees from Sanofi and Novartis, and institutional research funding from Sanofi, Medtronic Diabetes, and Powder Pharmaceuticals Inc. R.C.W.M. received research funding from AstraZeneca, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Merck Sharp & Dohme, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, Roche Diagnostics, and Tricida Inc. for carrying out clinical trials or studies, and from AstraZeneca, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Eli Lilly, and Merck for speaker honoraria or consultancy in advisory boards. All proceeds have been donated to the Chinese University of Hong Kong to support diabetes research. R.C.W.M. is also a member of the editorial board of Diabetes. No other potential conflicts of interest relevant to this article were reported.

Figures

None
Graphical abstract
Figure 1
Figure 1
Glucose trajectories of three subclasses among 906 children. The solid lines represented the glucose trajectories estimated by the latent class trajectory analyses. The shaded areas represented the 95% CIs of glucose trajectories.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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