- ALLERGY, RESPIRATORY
- Keep Asthma, Allergies at Bay for the Holidays
- Air Quality Better in Northeast, Midwest
- Know Your Asthma Triggers
- ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE
- When Healing Becomes a Commodity
- Could Chinese Herb Be a Natural Viagra?
- Eight Spiritual Universal Principles in the Art of Practice
- ANIMAL CARE
- 'Comfort Dogs' Come to Emotional Rescue
- Safe Toys for Dogs
- Animals Respond to Acupuncture's Healing Touch
- BONES & JOINTS
- New Clues to How Fish Oils Help Arthritis Patients
- Human Ancestors Put Best Foot Forward 1.5M Years Ago
- Rheumatoid Arthritis Rising Among U.S. Women
- CANCER
- Green Tea Compound Slowed Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
- Smoking Ups Risk of Second Breast Cancer
- Scams and Shams That Prey on Cancer Patients
- CAREGIVING
- With Age Comes Greater Risk of Hypothermia
- More Than 60,000 Patients Risked Hepatitis Infections
- Transition From Home to Hospital Rarely Seamless
- CIRCULATORY SYSTEM
- Drink a Little Wine, Live a Little Longer
- Exercise Extends Life of Kidney Patients
- Years of Exposure to Traffic Pollution Raises Blood Pressure
- COSMETIC
- Health Tip: After Liposuction
- What to Do If You Have Unsightly Veins
- Mouse Study Finds Molecule That Tells Hair to Grow
- DENTAL, ORAL
- Periodontal Disease Impacts Whole Health
- An Oral Approach to Heart Disease
- Acupuncture May Ease Anxiety Over Dental Work
- DIABETES
- Boosting Vitamin D Can Do a Heart Good
- Whole Grains Take a Bite Out of Type 2 Diabetes Risk
- Abnormal Heart Rhythm Boosts Death Risk for Diabetics
- DIET, NUTRITION
- Fatty Acid in Olive Oil Wards Off Hunger
- Meat Additives May Be Dangerous for Kidney Patients
- Iced Teas Pose High Risk of Kidney Stones
- DISABILITIES
- Could Your Cell Phone Help Shield You From Alzheimer's?
- Review Finds Marijuana May Help MS Patients
- ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
- Gene Mutation May Cause Some Cases of Seasonal Affective Disorder
- Common Pesticide Tied to Development Delays in Kids
- Main Ingredients in Household Dust Come From Outdoors
- EYE CARE, VISION
- Action-Filled Video Games Boost Adult Vision
- Stem Cells Repair Damaged Corneas in Mice
- Diabetic Eye Disease Rates Soaring
- FITNESS
- Any Exercise Good After a Heart Attack
- As Temperature Plummets, It's Still Safe to Exercise
- Exercise Guards White Blood Cells Against Aging
- GASTROINTESTINAL PROBLEMS
- Peppermint Oil, Fiber Can Fight Irritable Bowel
- Gum Chewing May Speed Colon Surgery Recovery
- Bowel Prep Harder on Women Than Men
- GENERAL HEALTH
- Spread of Swine Flu in Japan Could Raise WHO Alert to Highest Level
- Hand Washing 10 Times a Day May Help Keep Flu Away
- Research Shows Genetic Activity of Antioxidants
- HEAD & NECK
- Ski Helmets Encouraged for All
- Many Children Will Outgrow Headaches
- Zen May Thicken Brain, Thwart Pain
- HEALTH & TECHNOLOGY
- E-Mailing Your Way to Healthier Habits
- Airport Full Body Scanners Pose No Health Threat: Experts
- Magnet Therapy May Ease Hard-to-Treat Depression
- HEART & CARDIOVASCULAR
- Implanted Defibrillators Boost Long-Term Survival
- Women Who Run May Benefit From Extra Folic Acid
- Boosting Vitamin D Can Do a Heart Good
- INFECTIOUS DISEASE
- Poor Restroom Cleaning Causes Cruise-Ship Sickness
- Older Adults May Have Some Immunity to Swine Flu
- Swine Flu Is Now a Pandemic Says W.H.O.
- KID'S HEALTH
- Dangerous Toys Still on Store Shelves, Report Finds
- Boosting Kids' Stroke IQ May Save Lives
- Should Your Child Be Seeing a Chiropractor?
- MEN'S HEALTH
- Lots of Sex May Prevent Erectile Dysfunction
- Vigorous Exercise Cuts Stroke Risk for Men, Not Women
- Low Vitamin D Levels May Boost Men's Heart Attack Risk
- MENTAL HEALTH
- Green Spaces Boost the Body and the Mind
- Meditation, Yoga Might Switch Off Stress Genes
- Chocolate a Sweet Pick-Me-Up for the Depressed
- PREGNANCY
- Obesity May Affect Fertility in Young Womene
- Alternative Treatments May Boost IVF Success
- Woman in America Are Delaying Motherhood, Study Says
- SENIORS
- Memory Loss Help from Brain Supplement Prevagen
- Healthy Diet Could Cut Alzheimer's Disease Risk
- Nighttime Urination Linked to Higher Death Rate Among Elderly
'Standard' Glucose Test May Be Wrong One for Obese Children
By eHolistic.com Published: 06/15/2008
SUNDAY, June 15 (HealthDay News) -- The current standard screening test for prediabetes in children often fails to detect the condition, Canadian researchers contend.
Ironically, the findings are from a study group of 172 obese children -- ages 5 to 17 -- who joined a program to help them slim down to a healthy weight.
The standard diabetes test for children is the fasting plasma (blood) glucose test, but it identified almost three times fewer children with diabetes than the glucose stress test, also called the oral glucose tolerance test. The glucose stress test takes longer, because blood is taken from the patient after fasting and again two hours after drinking a sugary solution.
Using the fasting blood glucose test, the researchers found that only 8 percent of the children in the study met the diagnostic criteria for prediabetes. But the glucose stress test indicated that 25 percent of the children had prediabetes.
"A large proportion of the children with prediabetes would not have had their condition recognized," lead author Dr. Katherine Morrison, of the pediatrics department at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, said in a prepared statement.
The researchers also found the fasting blood glucose test identified metabolic syndrome in only 5.2 percent of the children, while the glucose stress test detected metabolic syndrome in 12.8 percent of the children. Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of risk factors (including high blood sugar) for diabetes and heart disease.
The findings were expected to be presented over the weekend at the Endocrine Society's annual meeting in San Francisco.
"Prediabetes and metabolic syndrome are common in obese children but are not readily identified with the currently recommended test. They require a glucose stress test," Morrison said.
Prediabetes and metabolic syndrome often cause no obvious symptoms, she added. Early detection is important, because changes in diet, regular exercise and moderate weight loss can help prevent or delay diabetes and metabolic syndrome.
Added time, inconvenience and cost are among the reasons why the glucose stress test isn't typically used in children.
"But this research suggests that the recommended test for screening obese children for prediabetes and metabolic syndrome should be changed," Morrison said.
More information
The U.S. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases has more about insulin resistance and prediabetes.
-- Robert Preidt
SOURCE: Endocrine Society, news release, June 15, 2008
Last Updated: June 15, 2008
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