Type 2 diabetes mellitus among children and adolescents in Al-Ain: a case series.

To characterize the features of type 2 diabetes mellitus among children and adolescents in Al-Ain, the records of every child with diabetes attending a teaching hospital in the city from January 1990 to December 2001 were retrospectively examined. Of 96 young people newly diagnosed with diabetes mellitus, 11 were identified as type 2. The clinical characteristics were: pubertal onset, female preponderance, obesity, strong family history of type 2 diabetes mellitus, high plasma glucose at presentation, adequate beta cell reserve and serum pancreatic islet cell antibody negativity. This case series adds to the evidence that type 2 diabetes mellitus is emerging among children in our region.