Hello. I'm Dr Charles Vega, and I am a clinical professor of family medicine at the University of California at Irvine. Welcome to Medscape Morning Report, our 1-minute news story for primary care.
Onset of type 1 diabetes after age 30 is common. But given that the overwhelming majority of adults with new-onset diabetes will have type 2, perhaps we can be forgiven for often misdiagnosing type 1 patients at presentation. Previous research has found that type 1 diabetes is nearly as likely to occur after the age of 30 as it is in younger people.
Recognizing adult-onset type 1 diabetes at presentation can be like trying to pick out a needle in a haystack. The prevalence of overweight and obesity is as high among people with type 1 diabetes as in the general population, making it even more difficult to identify these patients.
This current study involved 600 adults with diabetes who were diagnosed in a primary care practice. Type 1 diabetes was eventually identified in 20% of this group.
One key sign identified from this study is rapid deterioration in glycemic control despite the use of oral glucose-lowering medications. Rapid insulin requirement was highly predictive of late-onset type 1 diabetes, with 84% requiring insulin within 1 year.
COMMENTARY
Rapid Deterioration in Type 2 Diabetes: Rethink the Diagnosis
Charles P. Vega, MD
DisclosuresNovember 20, 2018
Hello. I'm Dr Charles Vega, and I am a clinical professor of family medicine at the University of California at Irvine. Welcome to Medscape Morning Report, our 1-minute news story for primary care.
Onset of type 1 diabetes after age 30 is common. But given that the overwhelming majority of adults with new-onset diabetes will have type 2, perhaps we can be forgiven for often misdiagnosing type 1 patients at presentation. Previous research has found that type 1 diabetes is nearly as likely to occur after the age of 30 as it is in younger people.
Recognizing adult-onset type 1 diabetes at presentation can be like trying to pick out a needle in a haystack. The prevalence of overweight and obesity is as high among people with type 1 diabetes as in the general population, making it even more difficult to identify these patients.
This current study involved 600 adults with diabetes who were diagnosed in a primary care practice. Type 1 diabetes was eventually identified in 20% of this group.
One key sign identified from this study is rapid deterioration in glycemic control despite the use of oral glucose-lowering medications. Rapid insulin requirement was highly predictive of late-onset type 1 diabetes, with 84% requiring insulin within 1 year.
Medscape Internal Medicine © 2018 WebMD, LLC
Any views expressed above are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the views of WebMD or Medscape.
Cite this: Rapid Deterioration in Type 2 Diabetes: Rethink the Diagnosis - Medscape - Nov 20, 2018.
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Authors and Disclosures
Authors and Disclosures
Author
Charles P. Vega, MD
Health Sciences Clinical Professor, Family Medicine, University of California, Irvine
Disclosure: Charles P. Vega, MD, has disclosed the following relevant financial relationships:
Serve(d) as a director, officer, partner, employee, advisor, consultant, or trustee for: McNeil Pharmaceuticals