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Early signs of adult diabetes seen in kids

LONDON: Researchers have found that early signs of adulthood type 2 diabetes can be seen in children as young as 8 years old.

Type 2 diabetes is most often diagnosed in middle age or later, with its symptoms slowly developing over many years. “It’s remarkable that we can see signs of adult diabetes in the blood from such a young age, this is about 50 years before it’s commonly diagnosed,” said Joshua Bell from the University of Bristol in the UK.



The study tracked over 4,000 participants and combined genetics with ‘metabolomics’, which involves measuring many small molecules to identify patterns unique to type 2 diabetes. Data was taken once in childhood — at 8 years old, twice when aged 16 and 18 years and once when aged 25. They found levels of HDL cholesterol were reduced at age 8, while inflammatory glycoprotein acetyls and amino acids were elevated in 16 and 18-year-olds.

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