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Prevalence of impaired glucose regulation in German school-leaving students

International Journal of Obesity volume 31, pages 1086–1088 (2007)Cite this article

Abstract

The increase in prevalence of obesity in childhood and adolescence appears to be followed by a rise of type 2 diabetes (T2D) cases in youth. Studies from the United States indicated that more than 1 in 10 adolescents may have disturbed glucose metabolism and that ethnicity and socioeconomic status are major determinants of (pre) diabetes prevalence. Since data for European countries are rare, we conducted a cross-sectional survey in 721 school-leaving boys and girls (mean age 15.5 years) in Düsseldorf (Germany). In our population from a predominantly low socioeconomic background, a total of 2.5% had impaired fasting glucose, impaired glucose tolerance or T2D. Hence, our study does not confirm the alarming data from high-risk US. American populations, but, nevertheless provides evidence for the necessity of public health interventions aiming at primary prevention of obesity and T2D in children and adolescents.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Dr Horst Winkler, Renate Bredahl and Erik Hahnloser from the Public Health Office in Düsseldorf for their support in conducting the study and Liljana Uebber (German Diabetes Center) for excellent technical assistance with autoantibody measurement. This work was supported by the German Federal Ministry of Health and Social Security and the Ministry of Science and Research of the State North-Rhine Westphalia.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. German Diabetes Clinic, German Diabetes Center, Leibniz Institute at Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany

    C Herder, C Schmitz-Beuting, W A Scherbaum & S Martin

  2. Third Medical Department and Policlinic, University Hospital Giessen and Marburg, Giessen, Germany

    C Schmitz-Beuting

  3. Institute of Biometrics and Epidemiology, German Diabetes Center, Leibniz Institute at Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany

    W Rathmann & B Haastert

  4. Public Health Office (Gesundheitsamt), Düsseldorf, Germany

    J Schmitz-Beuting, M Schäfer & H Schneitler

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  1. C Herder
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  2. C Schmitz-Beuting
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  3. W Rathmann
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  4. B Haastert
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  5. J Schmitz-Beuting
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  6. M Schäfer
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  7. W A Scherbaum
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  8. H Schneitler
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  9. S Martin
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Correspondence to C Herder.

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Herder, C., Schmitz-Beuting, C., Rathmann, W. et al. Prevalence of impaired glucose regulation in German school-leaving students. Int J Obes 31, 1086–1088 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0803620

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0803620

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