OBJECTIVES

In Asia, younger individuals (below age 45) are diagnosed to have type 2 diabetes with increased rates of obesity defined by lower BMI yet with greater visceral adiposity (waist circumference and waisthip ratios). The prevalence data on type 1 diabetes is not well established, considered to be low, but is seen to be increasing as well. This changing phenotype therefore, presents a clinical dilemma in terms of correctly classifying diabetes and deciding on the consequent appropriate treatment. Distinguishing type 1 from type 2 diabetes has become more difficult with type 2 diabetes dramatically increasing in young adults and children. This study aims to define the characteristics of diabetes among young adults in the Philippines to provide a basis for appropriate management amidst changes in diabetes phenotypes seen globally.

METHODS

In this cross-sectional analytic study, we characterized the demographic, metabolic, and autoimmune features of diabetes among young adult Filipinos aged 18 to 45 years old consulting at a tertiary referral center in Manila, Philippines. Baseline serum A1c, FBS, 75-g oral glucose tolerance test, insulin, serum C-peptide, insulin autoantibodies, leptin, adiponectin, lipid profile, and thyroid function tests were obtained from the participants and analyzed. The homeostasis model assessment (HOMA) was used to estimate the insulin sensitivity.

RESULTS

A total of 348 patients with diabetes were included, with females comprising two-thirds of the participants. The mean age at diagnosis of diabetes was 35.9±7.22 years. The mean BMI was 28.12 kg/m2, with median waist to hip ratio (WHR) of 0·93. Metabolic syndrome was found in 60% of participants and 67.82% were obese by body mass index. The mean A1c was 9.07±2.52%. Good glucose control (A1c less than 7.0%) was seen in 23% of participants  while nearly half (48%) had HbA1c which was >9.0%. The median levels of fasting insulin and C-peptide were 12.62 (range 1.33–90.42) mIU/L and 0.78 ng/mL (range 0–16.2), respectively. 

Included participants were diagnosed with diabetes within a year and as such, majority did not have any micro- or macrovascular complications. The most common diabetes complication was sensory neuropathy detected by monofilament testing, which was found in 28% of participants, followed by non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy in 13%. A history of previous diabetic ketoacidosis was found in 10 patients (2.87%). Glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) and insulin auto-antibodies were found in 3.2% and 19.3% of participants, respectively. Approximately half (51.73%) of the participants were insulin resistant by HOMA-IR.

CONCLUSION

In contrast with Caucasians and other Asians, diabetes among young Filipino adults is associated with lower BMI but with a similarly high visceral adiposity as shown by an elevated WHR. Metabolic syndrome with insulin resistance as defined by a variety of indices is predominant. Type 1 diabetes with autoantibodies occur in only a small fraction of this population. Data derived from this work can provide a framework for cluster analysis towards personalized management specific to this population.

Human ; Acids ; Adiponectin ; Adiposity ; Adult ; Aged ; Antibodies ; Asia ; Asian ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Autoantibodies ; Body Mass Index ; C-peptide ; Carboxy-lyases ; Child ; Cluster Analysis ; Demography ; Diabetes Complications ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; Diabetic Ketoacidosis ; Diabetic Retinopathy ; Diagnosis ; Fasting ; Female ; Glucose ; Glucose Tolerance Test ; Glutamate Decarboxylase ; Glutamic Acid ; Insulin ; Insulin Resistance ; Ketosis ; Leptin ; Lipids ; Metabolic Syndrome ; Obesity ; Patients ; Peptides ; Phenotype ; Philippines ; Population ; Prevalence ; Serum ; Therapeutics ; Thyroid Gland ; Thyroid Function Tests ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVES: To study the predictive value of serum macrophage M1/M2 markers for the risk of cardiac lesions in obese children. METHODS: A total of 60 obese children (mild-to-moderate obesity, n=32; severe obesity, n=28) and 50 healthy controls who visited the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University from June 2024 to December 2024 were included. The baseline characteristics and the levels of laboratory indicators, echocardiographic parameters, and macrophage markers (MCP-1, Arg-1, CD206, and CD86) were compared among the three groups. The correlation between macrophage marker levels and echocardiographic parameters and the influencing factors of cardiac lesions in obese children were analyzed. The receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was used to evaluate the predictive performance of each influencing factor for cardiac lesions in obese children. RESULTS: Multiple echocardiographic parameters differed significantly among the mild-to-moderate obesity, severe obesity, and control groups (P<0.01). Significant differences were also observed in MCP-1 and Arg-1 levels, CD206 positivity rate, and the CD86/CD206 ratio among the three groups (P<0.05). In obese children, MCP-1 and Arg-1 levels, as well as CD86 and CD206 positivity rates, were correlated with echocardiographic parameters (P<0.05). Univariate logistic regression identified MCP-1, Arg-1, the CD86/CD206 ratio, and the CD206 positivity rate as factors associated with cardiac lesions (P<0.05). The combined prediction model based on these markers yielded an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.887 (P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS Combined measurement of macrophage markers can predict the risk of early cardiac lesions in obese children.
Humans ; Male ; Female ; Child ; Biomarkers/blood* ; Macrophages ; Obesity/blood* ; Chemokine CCL2/blood* ; ROC Curve ; Adolescent ; Child, Preschool ; Heart Diseases/diagnosis* ; Echocardiography

OBJECTIVES: To study the relationship between skeletal muscle mass index (SMI) and metabolic phenotypes of obesity in adolescents, and to provide a basis for the prevention and control of adolescent obesity and related metabolic diseases. METHODS: A total of 1 352 adolescents aged 12 to 18 years were randomly selected by stratified cluster sampling in Yinchuan City from October 2017 to September 2020, and they were surveyed using questionnaires, physical measurements, body composition measurements, and laboratory tests. According to the diagnostic criteria for metabolic abnormalities and the definition of obesity based on the body mass index, the subjects were divided into four metabolic phenotypes: metabolically healthy normal weight, metabolically healthy obesity, metabolically unhealthy normal weight, and metabolically unhealthy obesity. The association between SMI and the metabolic phenotypes was analyzed using multivariate logistic regression. RESULTS: The SMI level in the metabolically unhealthy normal weight, metabolically healthy obesity, and metabolically unhealthy obesity groups was lower than that in the metabolically healthy normal weight group (P<0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that after adjusting for gender and age, a higher SMI level was a protective factors for adolescents to develop metabolic unhealthy normal weight, metabolically healthy obesity, and metabolically unhealthy obesity phenotypes (OR=0.74, 0.60, and 0.54, respectively; P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS Increasing SMI can reduce the risk of the development of metabolic unhealthy/obesity.
Adolescent ; Humans ; Body Mass Index ; Metabolic Syndrome/metabolism* ; Muscle, Skeletal/metabolism* ; Obesity, Metabolically Benign/diagnosis* ; Pediatric Obesity ; Phenotype ; Risk Factors ; Child

BACKGROUND: Tri-ponderal mass index (TMI) has been reported to be a more accurate estimate of body fat than body mass index (BMI). This study aims to compare the effectiveness of TMI and BMI in identifying hypertension, dyslipidemia, impaired fasting glucose (IFG), abdominal obesity, and clustered cardio-metabolic risk factors (CMRFs) in 3- to 17-year-old children. METHODS: A total of 1587 children aged 3 to 17 years were included. Logistic regression was used to evaluate correlations between BMI and TMI. Area under the curves (AUCs) were used to compare discriminative capability among indicators. BMI was converted to BMI- z scores, and accuracy was compared by false-positive rate, false-negative rate, and total misclassification rate. RESULTS: Among children aged 3 to 17 years, the mean TMI was 13.57 ± 2.50 kg/m 3 for boys and 13.3 ± 2.33 kg/m 3 for girls. Odds ratios (ORs) of TMI for hypertension, dyslipidemia, abdominal obesity, and clustered CMRFs ranged from 1.13 to 3.15, higher than BMI, whose ORs ranged from 1.08 to 2.98. AUCs showed similar ability of TMI (AUC: 0.83) and BMI (AUC: 0.85) in identifying clustered CMRFs. For abdominal obesity and hypertension, the AUC of TMI was 0.92 and 0.64, respectively, which was significantly better than that of BMI, 0.85 and 0.61. AUCs of TMI for dyslipidemia and IFG were 0.58 and 0.49. When 85th and 95th of TMI were set as thresholds, total misclassification rates of TMI for clustered CMRFs ranged from 6.5% to 16.4%, which was not significantly different from that of BMI- z scores standardized according to World Health Organization criteria. CONCLUSIONS TMI was found to have equal or even better effectiveness in comparison with BMI in identifying hypertension, abdominal obesity, and clustered CMRFs TMI was more stable than BMI in 3- to 17-year-old children, while it failed to identify dyslipidemia and IFG. It is worth considering the use of TMI for screening CMRFs in children and adolescents.
Adolescent ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Body Mass Index ; Dyslipidemias ; East Asian People ; Hypertension ; Obesity, Abdominal ; Pediatric Obesity/diagnosis* ; Cardiometabolic Risk Factors

Overweight/obesity has become one of the major public health problems among children and adolescents all over the world. The current screening standards for overweight and obesity in children and adolescents are not unified. It is easy to make mistakes and inefficient to evaluate item by item or develop self-written packages. Taking the"Screening standards for overweight and obesity in Chinese school-age children and adolescents"as an example, this study introduced four methods and procedures for evaluating overweight and obesity among children and adolescents from the world and China and described their application methods in combination with specific cases. At the same time, the SPSS and SAS packages were compiled and the specific application steps were explained, so that users could correctly and quickly screen overweight and obesity among children and adolescents, and conduct horizontal comparisons of similar studies across different regions.
Adolescent ; Body Mass Index ; Child ; China ; Humans ; Overweight ; Pediatric Obesity/diagnosis* ; Prevalence

Meralgia paresthetica (MP) is a neuropathic pain caused by the entrapment of the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve (LFCN). There have been reports of MP following various surgeries; however, it has not yet been reported after hemorrhoid surgery. We report a case of bilateral MP after hemorrhoid surgery in a jack-knife position. The patient presented with pain, tightness, and a tingling sensation in the anterolateral aspect of both thighs. Ultrasonography-guided LFCN block was used for diagnosis and treatment, along with conservative management for 20 days with oral medication. One month later, the patient's symptoms had resolved completely. MP due to the jack-knife position may occur postoperatively in patients with predisposing risk factors such as obesity and diabetes mellitus, despite adequate padding and a shorter operating time.
Diabetes Mellitus ; Diagnosis ; Femoral Neuropathy ; Hemorrhoidectomy* ; Hemorrhoids ; Humans ; Nerve Compression Syndromes ; Neuralgia ; Obesity ; Prone Position ; Risk Factors ; Sensation ; Thigh

PURPOSE: Obesity is risk factor for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). However, nonobese patients are also increasingly susceptible to NAFLD. The aim of this study was to compare the clinical characteristics of obese and nonobese pediatric patients with NAFLD. METHODS: We retrospectively studied 68 patients who were diagnosed with NAFLD between January 2010 and October 2016 at 10–18 years of age. Body mass index ≥95th percentile for age and sex was defined as obesity. Abdominal ultrasonography and laboratory, anthropometrics measurements were evaluated. RESULTS: Among the 68, 26 (38.2%) were nonobese patients. The ratio of male to female was 5.8:1, and the median age at diagnosis was 13 years (range, 10–17 years). Significant higher triglyceride (223.0 mg/dL vs. 145.9 mg/dL, P=0.047) and total cholesterol levels (211.6 mg/dL vs. 173.2 mg/dL, P=0.011) were shown in nonobese than obese patients. High-density lipoprotein cholesterol level < 40 mg/dL (hazard ratio [HR], 6.5; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.13–7.10; P=0.048), total cholesterol level >200mg/dL (HR, 5.6; 95% CI, 1.23–15.31; P=0.038) and abdominal obesity (HR, 2.53; 95% CI, 1.22–4.68; P=0.013) were significant risk factors for NAFLD in nonobese patients. CONCLUSION: Nonobese patients present a substantial proportion of pediatric NAFLD cases. Significant abnormal lipid concentrations were found in nonobese and abdominal obesity was important risk factor for nonobese NAFLD.
Body Mass Index ; Cholesterol ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Humans ; Lipoproteins ; Male ; Metabolic Diseases ; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease* ; Obesity ; Obesity, Abdominal ; Pediatric Obesity ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Triglycerides ; Ultrasonography

The Committee on Pediatric Obesity of the Korean Society of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition newly developed the first Korean Guideline on the Diagnosis and Treatment of Obesity in Children and Adolescents to deliver an evidence-based systematic approach to childhood obesity in South Korea. The following areas were systematically reviewed, especially on the basis of all available references published in South Korea and worldwide, and new guidelines were established in each area with the strength of recommendations based on the levels of evidence: (1) definition and diagnosis of overweight and obesity in children and adolescents; (2) principles of treatment of pediatric obesity; (3) behavioral interventions for children and adolescents with obesity, including diet, exercise, lifestyle, and mental health; (4) pharmacotherapy; and (5) bariatric surgery.
Adolescent ; Bariatric Surgery ; Child ; Diagnosis* ; Diet ; Drug Therapy ; Gastroenterology* ; Humans ; Korea ; Life Style ; Mental Health ; Obesity ; Overweight ; Pediatric Obesity*

BACKGROUND: Osteoporosis is a systemic skeletal disease characterized by reduced bone mineral density and skeletal microstructural abnormalities. We investigated the correlation between serum uric acid (SUA) levels and bone mineral content (BMC) values as a surrogate marker of bone health. Additionally, we assessed whether the correlation, if any, was evident even after classifying the study population into two groups based on a diagnosis of obesity in these individuals.METHODS: This study included 936 women who visited the healthcare centers that participated in this study. Fasting blood samples were obtained from all women to measure SUA, BMC of the lumbar spine was measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. We evaluated the correlation between SUA and BMC in obese and non-obese groups.RESULTS: SUA concentration and BMC were positively correlated (β=0.257, P=0.001); however, this correlation was significant only in the obese group (β=0.203, P=0.001).CONCLUSION: SUA concentration and BMC are positively correlated in women diagnosed obesity.
Absorptiometry, Photon ; Biomarkers ; Body Mass Index ; Bone Density ; Delivery of Health Care ; Diagnosis ; Fasting ; Female ; Humans ; Obesity ; Osteoporosis ; Spine ; Uric Acid

BACKGROUND: This study evaluated factors independently associated with electrocardiographic left ventricular hypertrophy (ECG-LVH) in subjects who were normotensive on clinical measurement and had no prior history of hypertension. METHODS: This cross-sectional study analyzed cases and controls in the Comprehensive Medical Examination Center of Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital. Eligible case participants presented ECG-LVH according to the Sokolow- Lyon or Cornell criteria, were normotensive on clinical measurement, and had never received a diagnosis of hypertension. The control group comprised subjects with normal sinus rhythm who were normotensive on clinical measurement with no history of hypertension. RESULTS: A multiple logistic regression model showed male sex, age and systolic blood pressure to be positively related to the presence of ECG-LVH. A positive relation of smoking and regular exercise; an inverse relation of pulse rate to the presence of ECG-LVH were found only in men. An inverse relation of uric acid level was found only in women. Detailed analyses of relatively healthy and young men according to whether or not to exercise regularly showed that positive relations of age and systolic blood pressure; an inverse relation of obesity to the presence of ECG-LVH were apparent in the non-regular exercise group but not in the regular exercise group. In the regular exercise group, only pulse rate showed significant (inverse) association with the presence of ECG-LVH. CONCLUSION: The varying risk factor profiles associated with ECG-LVH according to sex and the participation in regular exercise may help to elucidate the ECG-LVH in clinical normotensives with no prior history of hypertension.
Blood Pressure ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Diagnosis ; Electrocardiography ; Female ; Heart ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Obesity ; Risk Factors ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Uric Acid