Prevalence of hyperinsulinism, type 2 diabetes mellitus and metabolic syndrome among Saudi overweight and obese pediatric patients.

AIM: Obesity and overweight among children and adolescents is increasing at an alarming rate, which lead to the increase in the incidence of their related co-morbidities. Our objectives are to establish the following: 1) the prevalence of hyperinsulinism among overweight and obese pediatric patients. 2) The prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) among those with hyperinsulinism. 3) The prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MS) and its components among T2DM pediatric patients.
METHODS: A retrospective cross-sectional study conducted on overweight and obese pediatric patients attending the pediatrics diabetes clinic at King Abdul-Aziz University Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, from 2006 to 2010. Serum insulin level was measured for 387 patients (ages from 2 to 18 years). Those with hyperinsulinism underwent further investigations to assess the prevalence of T2DM and the prevalence of MS among T2DM patients.
RESULTS: The overall prevalence of hyperinsulinism and T2DM were 44.7%, and 9.04%, respectively. Among children and adolescents with T2DM, 62.86% had a body mass index BMI≥85th percentile, 37.14% had a BMI ≥ 95th percentile, 14.29% had MS, 34.29% were hypertensive and 28.57% had dyslipidemia.
CONCLUSION: Obesity and its co-morbidities were prevalent among Saudi pediatric patients. We recommend preventing excessive weight gain through the promotion of a healthy lifestyle, family educational seminars and the reinforcement of indoor exercises.