Original article. Trends and characteristics of childhood diabetes in a tertiary care center in Thailand

Background: Reports on characteristics of pediatric diabetes in children from Southeast Asian countries are limited.

Objectives: To describe the clinical characteristics, prevalence, glycemic control, and current treatment regimens of diabetes in Thai children.

Materials and Methods: Data from 132 patients seen at our pediatric diabetes clinic at Chulalongkorn University during 2001−2013 were retrospectively reviewed.

Results: We found an increasing number of patients newly-diagnosed with type 1- (T1DM) or type 2- diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The overall proportion of T1DM was 69.7%, T2DM 23.4%, and other types 6.9%. Children with T1DM were younger at diagnosis, had higher initial glucose and glycated hemoglobin A_1c (HbA_1c), a lower body mass index z-score, lower C-peptide and insulin levels, and were more likely to have classic diabetes symptoms and ketoacidosis, compared with children with T2DM. Mixed diabetes phenotypes were found in about 12%−14% of these children. Glutamic acid decarboxylase and islet antigen-2 autoantibodies were found in 70% and 54% of T1DM patients, respectively, and not in T2DM patients. HbA_1c in T1DM was 9.6 ± 2.2% total hemoglobin, and in T2DM was 7.9 ± 2.6%. There were no differences in HbA_1c levels between different insulin regimens in the T1DM group.

Conclusion: The number of children with T1DM or T2DM has been increasing and there are overlapping phenotypes in a significant proportion of these children. Correct diagnosis requires clinical evaluation and monitoring of the clinical course. Further research is needed to determine the risk factors for the poor glycemic control found in children with T1DM.